Mother’s Day, 2005

Dear Mom:

Thank you for making fantastic birthday cakes. Especially the ones that had waxed paper-wrapped quarters hidden inside.

Thank you for reading to me when I was little.

Thank you for letting me slide down the stairs wrapped up in a sleeping bag, over and over and over again, even though the noise was probably driving you crazy.

Thank you for hiding the Easter eggs.

Thank you for coming all the way across the country to help me to pack and clean up when I moved apartments.

Thank you for being a stay-at-home mom when I was little.

Thank you for always being willing to loan me anything– including time or money– when I needed it.

Thank you for always having huge jugs of Kool-Aid ready for me and my friends when we were playing basketball in the driveway. And for not skimping on the sugar.

Thank you for coming East for Christmas so that we could all be together.

And finally, thank you for blow-drying my hair like the guy from The Young and the Restless before my roller skating dates. I still can’t manage this myself.

Love you, Mommy!