the dress.

the other day we got a new dress in at the store. when i saw it-all i could think is, "that is so mom." it is what i picture her wearing during my "growing up" years. just the typical shirt-waist dress i'm sure many of you remember your moms in. i was mentioning it to a customer and a co-worker came over and said "uh-so june cleaver." i fell out laughing and simply proceeded to tell her that gina ennis is a june cleaver. well, today-i wore a shirt waist dress.(my mom happens to love it-of course) i have never heard so many "you are turning into your moms" in my life. i think that is what every daughter doesn't think they want to hear. i certainly would not have wanted to hear it when i was in middle or high school. all the "no-you can't go to his house if there isn't a parent", "no, that dress is too revealing",so on and so on, and then-the all-time favorite,"you'll thank me when you're older." i swore to myself and my friends then and there-i would be a COOL mom. but-yes, i do thank her. and now-i understand exactly where she was coming from. when i see how some of the girls with "cool" moms have turned out-i see why she was willing to have me dislike her for those couple of years. but that is all a little off course. back to the present. most of you know my mom. for those who don't-i can't even begin to describe-but i'll try and paint a picture. her family is her world. from my dad to all of us kids to her mom and brothers. she lives to help us in any way she can. she accepts our need for independence, but has always made it quite clear that we are ALWAYS welcome back home. she manages our house. her days are spent helping other people. she makes john 'to go' breakfasts every morning. she tutors. she's a volunteer social worker. she is God-fearing. she gardens. wherever she is and whatever she is doing, she gives 1000 percent. she mows the lawn. she can make a cake into any shape you ask of her. she takes the trash down.(quite a journey here). she can tell when i'm upset and i need to talk about it. she can tell when i don't want to talk about it. she's fiercely independent, but also very reliant on my dad. she does all our laundry without a fuss. she is "that's goood" she cleans up after us. she enters cookie and pie making contests. and wins. her "country" breakfasts, as well as her chocolate chip cookies, are famous. she can work wonders with construction paper. but none of this describes who my mom really is. she can transition from mom to grandmother to doctors wife to friend to daughter to sister to miss gina as easily as i can change shoes.(and these are all extremely different roles). she doesn't do it in a way that is fake or ever intimidating. it's all very natural. she knows the perfect thing to say and do for every situation. she is the most creative person i know. all this still doesn't capture her. she has always done everything in our power to make sure we have had every opportunity. she lets us make our own minds up, but is always there to offer an opinion when we ask her. basically-my mom is whoever i need her to be at the time. i think everyone in my family would say this and most anyone who knows her. to me, she is a "cool" mom. my mom is the person i wish i was and the mother i want and hope to be someday. so-if wearing a shirt waist dress takes me one step closer to being like her-then order me one in every color.