Thanks Mom!

When I was a kid everyone told me non-stop how much I looked like and acted like my Dad...I loved it! I was completely a Daddy's girl and more than a little bit of a tomboy. I wish I had some of my childhood photos in digital form to show some proof, but this one will have to do! The funny thing is, this is when I was a senior in high school - check out that hair! HAH!

Anyway - I love my Dad and still look up to him so much as I try to be a grown up and a little more "girly"...ok, stop snickering! Anyway, over the past few years more and more people have mentioned how much of my mom they see in me. I love this! It's the first time in my life that I've been compared to her, and I take it as a huge complement. To me it means that I'm learning how to be compassionate, tactful, loving and really value my family and friends. I'm becoming more of a thoughtful caregiver and settling down into myself, learning how to pair my adventurous side with becoming a woman of God. It's pretty amazing!

One of the things I absolutely inherited from Mom is my love of greeting cards...as most of you reading this know, I can't help but send them out! I have this master calendar on my wall that has all of the birthdays and anniversaries of all my family members and friends - I hit up Hallmark every month to shop for cards and I love every minute of it. To me, there's just something so cool about checking your mail and getting something other than bills - hopefully an envelope containing a little chuckle from me makes my friends' and family's days every once in awhile.

In that same vein, Mom has been known to clip cartoons out of the paper that crack her up (and she thinks I would laugh at) and include them in funny cards she sends my way. I love this! I have my favorites tacked up on a corkboard in my room (they have been known to decorate dorm room doors, refrigerators and kitchen cabinets also!) and they still make me actually laugh out loud when I read them. She sent me the one below electronically, as my younger sister was the lucky recipient of the original - but it made me laugh so hard I had to post it here!

http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=47901

So all that to say, I am so lucky to have two parents I try to emulate. I really love them both and hope I'm growing into a "grown up" that reflects all the great things I've gleaned from them over the years.