7 Quick Takes Friday - Vol. 2

1.

Today it just so happens to be my mother's birthday!  I'll focus this weeks quick takes around her, and if you get a chance you can pop on over to her blog, Homeschooling with Joy and wish her a Happy Birthday. =]

2.

My mom enjoys taking photos of all us kids, though she isn't overly fond of having pictures taken of herself.  I've been getting a few more recently... however many of them end up like these:

Sometimes I can get her to pose for a picture - usually with one of my siblings or my dad - and I don't think that they turn out as bad as she thinks they do.

3.

I'm the oldest in my family, and for some reason, my mom decided that meant I could never be taller than her.  It didn't matter if anyone else in the family grew to be taller, I couldn't.  All through my growing years I was determined that I was going to be taller than my mom, whether she liked it or not, but wouldn't you know... I stopped growing two inches short of her.  I'm convinced that she did something to make sure I'd stop growing then.  Go figure, two of my younger sisters have passed me up and have/will probably pass my mom up too.  Oh well.

4.

I have to give my mom a lot of credit for putting up with me over the years.  I do think that I am one of the best behaved children that she has, but I've tried her patience in other ways.  Somehow I ended up with all these random, little weird health quirks that like to pop up from time to time that have no clear origin or reason, and headaches that occur all the time with a plethora of causes and really no cures.  And after years of this, she still at least listens to me when I walk up and say "Hey mom... there's this weird thing I noticed...."

5.

I owe a lot of things to my mom.  There's my good looks and my hair, of course.  Not my math skills, unfortunately - she has them and I don't.   But one thing certainly is my love of books.  When I was little my mom and my dad would read books to us all the time, and I remember spending nights with my mom reading through the "Little House on the Prairie" series.  My favorite series of books to read and re-read were the Nancy Drew mysteries; when I got the chance to go to Barnes & Nobel I would buy one or two to add onto the collection that my mom started.  I believe that listening to my mom reading to us certainly sparked my interest in reading, and I know that our frequent trips to the library encouraged it.  It didn't take long before I was an avid reader, and I haven't stopped since.

6.

Besides taking us to the library and letting me check out more books than I could carry, one of the best things my mom has ever done for me was deciding to homeschool.  I didn't always appreciate it - there were many times my mom threatened to send us to a public school - but looking back, I'm very glad that she did.  I'm certain that my homeschool education played a big part in getting my high ACT score and the good grades and the honors societies during my time in college.  I know too that it helped me to become organized and learn how to schedule myself - another skill I greatly appreciated while living "on my own" at school.  

7.

So Mom, thank you for all the wonderful things you've done for me all throughout my life, and for all the things that you continue to do for me.  I am very blessed to have you for a mother.  I love you, and Happy Birthday. <3