Musings - Mama Kat's Workshop (19th May 2011)

List ten favorite things about one of your favorite people.

I suppose I should start by mentioning that my Mother is one of my favourite people.

Is that a little cliched? Who cares! She's ACE.

I wouldn't be the woman I am today if it wasn't for her and hopefully I will be able to pay it forward in a way that in thirty years time my own daughter might be sat somewhere, blogging, and saying the same thing about me.

Anyway, I should get listing... Here are my favourite things...

1. Crazy:
Off her rocker, a term I often use to refer to the matriarch. My mother has many eccentric and crazy traits that make being her offspring always entertaining. From her array of socks, obsession with supermarket toy machines (in the hope of getting a Sponge Bob Square Pants ball in every colour for the Pooch) and her ability to tease my Father until he can't breathe for laughing; I never know what to expect.

2. White Hair:
In her mid thirties, with my help I imagine, her blond hair started to turn white. Nothing drastic just typical colour changes that come with age. Why is this a favourite thing you ponder? Because my crazy Mother insists that this is her 'platinum blonde' stage of life and that models everywhere will be paying a fortune for the 'Lorna Look'. She pulls a silly expression when she says this which is hilarious.

3. The Music:
Growing up my music taste was warped. The influences I had were eccentric to say the least. My Mother insisted on playing me The Osmonds, Hermon's Hermits, Phil Collins, Elvis, Simply Red, Rod Stewart, Starship and many more. When you couple that with my Father's David Bowie and Eagles it's not surprising I like everything from Nickleback to McFly. I love her for it though as she made sure the house was always full of laughter and singing.

4. Dandelions:
She hates weeds, even taught the dog to bite the heads off the yellow dandelions which sadly didn't bode well for the daffodils or the marigolds. Her aversion is so funny that she often refers to them as the enemy. Quite often I will return home and wonder what is missing from the garden then realise that she has had a sneak round and hacked away.

5. Retirement
At 54 years old my Mother took early retirement so that she can be at home to have Katharine during the day when I go back to work. She is amazing to be doing it, especially when you think she is going to be looking after the crazy pooch at the same time. I gave birth in April but she retired in January, figured she needed resting time (that was her excuse anyway). :)

6. Traditions:
She loves her traditions. We always bake Mince Pies the week before Christmas, have a Christmas Eve present, she still insists on buying my winter coat despite my being 30, she texts me at ten every morning, she feeds the local ducks with posh bread every Saturday, I buy her a mini rose bush every Mother's day on request and whenever she eats Maltesers it is always her mission to see how many she can fit into her mouth. They might be silly traditions, and by no means have I listed them all, but they are who she is and I love her for them.

7. Many Fathers:
Much to the rolling of my Father's eyes, my Mother has this thing about telling me who my real Father is. There are three main contenders for the role, Donny Osmond (of Puppy Love fame), Martin Shaw (of The Professionals fame) and Jimmy White (of Snooker fame). Growing up she would often shout from the other room 'Your Dad's on TV' or 'You certainly didn't inherit your Dad's voice'. It's a good job none of these men were in Halifax at the time of my conception, ha ha.

8. Sense of humour:
You might have gathered through the rest of the list that my Mother likes to keep life entertaining. She has a great sense of humour which makes everything fun, even in my lowest moments she can make me feel better with a quip or a silly look. She has gotten me through the last few years by keeping me on the bright side.

9. Peas in a pod:
One of the favourite things I love about my Mother are the things that she passed down to me. Physical things such as hair colour, eye colour, my nose, a mole on my right index finger, my laugh and we even have a strange vein the same on our left leg. And various other elements such as her love of books, obsession with coats and hats, time keeping, need for routine and tradition and love of those that are close to me. We are peas in a pod, very close and ofter squished together... though not green. :)

10. My Rock:
My very favourite thing about my Mother is that she is my rock, always had been and always will be. She has held me up through heart break, evoked hysterical laughter, given me the ability to laugh at myself, be compassionate yet strong and know who I am. But mostly this woman has given me an amazing example of how to raise a daughter.

I only hope I can do her proud with mine. xx