Mama turns 36 years old today, and I want you to see and know all parts of me. YaYa has been gone for almost ten years, and I have so many thoughts and questions for her. I have searched for a close-up picture of just her smiling while she was raising me, and I can't find one. I want you to have all your serious and silly questions answered. I want you to know the person that existed before I became a Mama, and I want you to value the parts of me that are outside of parenting, feeding your strong, energetic bodies and folding laundry. Oodles and oodles of your laundry.
1. I am a mediocre driver, and I only slightly enjoy it when there is a breakfast taco at the destination. I am horrid at four-way stops. In 80% of four-way-instances, I will see fellow drivers throw their hands at me in exasperation or mouth expletives beginning in an "f" and ending with an "-itch" (these are valuable words--remember to use them only in instances that make a big impact and please use them in their correct, grammatical form). I knew I was a bad driver early on. I babysat for a family in high school, and on the drive home, Mama ended up in a cornfield. It was dark and scary, and I remember envisioning a boy named Malakai jumping out with a scythe. I made it home okay, and I learned an important lesson--cornfields should be avoided at all costs. FYI: Years later Daddy and Mama were lost in a corn maze in Wisconsin for three hours.
2. Mama talks a lot now, but I was a very quiet kid. As the oldest of three children, I was the first to go to school. Kindergarten was a scary place, and Mama did not know any English. So, I did not talk all year. Two little girls, Sarah P. and Becky C., played with Mama. They did all the talking. Most importantly, they made me feel valued. Remember, I hold kindness in the highest regard, and I learned this lesson first. So, I started as someone who only knew Vietnamese. Bennet, this is why I am thrilled you are learning Vietnamese at school. Your experiences are surely different than mine, but you come from an important story. And, you are beginning to weave your own story with the thread of our family's meaningful experiences. This is awesome.
3. While on the forty acres of the University of Texas, Mama worked hard to keep up my GPA. I also took the time to make lifelong friends and engage in some ninja-shenanigans. I was able to secure/steal a child-sized ninja costume from Uncle Nils. Once darkness settled in for the evening, I would jump out of trees or trashcans to scare friends (this fact may have changed post Mama's ninja-antics). This was not a smart idea, but it was oh-so-entertaining. Try to find the fun--even when you feel grumpy.
4. Mama loved being pregnant-80%of the time. During weeks 6-14, it was pure, absolute hell. I would be nauseated 24 hours in the day. With each pregnancy, horrid symptoms were added. It was like winning at Plinko on the Price is Right--except I repeatedly guessed the wrong amount when called up to the stage, threw-up on live television and simultaneously wet myself in my uncomfortable, (classy) whale costume. I did love feeling your kicks and punches. It is one of the best feelings in the world, and I was lucky to be your continuous punching bag.
5. I love, love being your mama. You may not hear it in my voice or see it on my face, but I love it--I love the crazy, hectic lives we have. After deciding to tell Daddy I liked him as more than a friend in college, making the choice to have each of you has been the smartest decisions of my life. You were wanted years before you arrived, and I will bust my rear to see you grow into compassionate, evolving, contributing and content humans. In the meantime, I will enjoy all of our smallish and big moments.
6. Here is Mama on her 36th birthday. I am happy and loved and proud to be yours.
(Photo taken by grumpy, loving, fun Bennet Lien)
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