Monday, February 9, 2009

Baby Mama

I have the best mom in the world. Please don't argue with me. I already know I'm right. And I will tell you why.


She has loved me unconditionally since the day I was born. And I am sure of that.

She has always supported me. No matter what I wanted to do with my life. In fact, I remember once when I was a teenager, she had said to me "You know, Ashley... if you decided you are a lesbian, I would be ok with that. I would still love you." I thought she was completely insane when she had said that to me (since I was totally boy-crazy), but I understand now why she said it.

She is absolutely beautiful. In every way. I mean, just look how hot she looks in this swimsuit.

She dressed our family so cute. She always put me in cute clothes, made sure I matched, curled my hair... and as soon as I could do it all myself, I sucked at it.

(see below)





And even though her children decided to be completely nerdy and lack all sense of style, she was still so proud of us. Even when I went through my totally awkward stage where I wore pop-can tops for all of my jewelry, and pants that were 3 sizes too big for me because they were "cool," and dyed my hair with kool-aid, she still loved me. I can't even begin to fathom how tough that would have been for a mother.

She and her siblings are extremely odd. And I love them dearly. It makes family gatherings SO much fun. They have the weird gene. She totally passed it on to my brother. It must have skipped me because, seriously... I mean... anyone you talk to will tell you I am SO not weird. Really. No, honestly. . . What, you don't believe me? Psh. Whatever.

Anyway, she is very silly. And it makes it so much fun to be around her. She also encourages my silly side. One particular day when Ashlee and I were about 14, we were at my house and my mom convinced us that each piece of furniture had a distinct "pitch." So my mother had a great laugh at our expense as Ashlee and I went around to each bed/chair/wall and said "oh.... oh..." raising our voices up and down until it would resonate back to us so we'd know we found the right pitch. I can't believe we fell for that. She was so full of crap.

A few years ago, she moved up to Seattle. And although I miss her, it is so much fun to go visit her and have good quality mommy/daughter time.

She is super duper intelligent. If I ever have a question about pretty much any topic, I just ask her. She's like a walking Wikipedia. And dictionary. She is a word nerd.... and that quality has definitely begun to rub off on me.

She is a strong woman. She raised me on her own for a big part of my life. I am only now able to imagine how difficult that would have been.

She is more talented than anybody I know. Honestly. I have never known anyone who is SO gifted in so many areas: music, art, crafts, photography, computers, sewing, writing, business, web design... the list goes on.

She is always there when I need to talk. Especially if it's late at night, like 3 in the morning, since that's about how late she stays up.

I can always go to her for advice and I know she'll never judge me.

She has always called me "Baby." And still does. Every time we talk. And I love it.

She has shown me how to be a good mother.

If I ever get down on myself, she always knows how to boost me up. She believes in me and in what she knows I can do.

She is a fantastic grandmother. She always sends cute little packages for EVERY holiday, which contain anything from candy, decorations, photographs, to creatively-shaped pasta, magazines, etc. She is always thinking of me. And of others. She is extremely selfless and is always willing to help.

My mother taught me so many things:

Life is not black and white.
People aren't just "good" or "bad."
Love people for what they do and who they are. Not what they may believe.
Eat lunch with the kid who sits alone every day.
Love yourself.
BE yourself.
Be proud of who you are and what you can do.
You can do anything.
It's ok to be different.
It's ok to question.
Explore every avenue.
Follow your dreams.
You are worth it.
Boys are stupid.
Stand up for what you believe in.
Every girl needs a good cry once in a while.
You are strong.
You are loved.

I love you, mom.

18 comments:

Raising Helm said...

How cute are you? And how blessed you are to have such a sweet and amazing relationship with your mother. I loved the list of all the things you learned from her...eat lunch with those who are alone, be kind...I know now how we found eachother. j/k but you are sure a RAE of sunshine in my life and I am so grateful that you have a mom that raised you well, even with the rad hair. love ya ash

Ashley Rae said...

Aw, Brit. You are so sweet. I seriously love and miss you. We need to get together soon. ASAP.

Annie said...

The B&Ws with your mom and kennedy are beautiful! I'm still bummed I missed your singing in RS.

Anonymous said...

Hey baby... :)

What a sweet, sweet surprise this post is! I'm nearly speechless, and enjoying one of those cries every girl needs. Were you inspired by heart shaped pasta?

You know, in my defense on the pitch thing, my bed actually did resonate when you spoke or sang at a certain pitch while lying on it... but it was pretty funny that I convinced you that everything did.... lol.... you were good sports.

You are everything I could ever want in a daughter... except maybe that you don't live in Seattle... But I can live with that :)

Love you baby.

Michelle said...

Beautiful. Every word is true, your tribute was amazing and made me cry.

She is and will be the best friend I could ever ask for.

Might I add, how blessed she is to have you as her daughter. We both are very blessed indeed for our daughters.

melanie33 said...

aw... such a touching tribute... it almost motivates me to contact my own mom in prison and tell her how i feel about her. except contacting someone in prison can be kind of difficult. good thing she doesn't live there, just volunteers. but i had you going for a second didn't i? i mean honestly, my mom has never even said a swear word in her life let alone do something illegal. seriously that is where i get all my goodness from.
and i have LOTS of it.

Sharee said...

Awwww, so cute Ash! I love it! Your mom is the best! Well, next to my mom, of course. :) Haha! Just kidding! I am so glad that she raised you so well!

Shilo said...

Awww, you are sweet.
What a wonderful tribute to your mom. She is blessed to have you as a daughter.
And thanks for sharing all the "early day" pics...It was fun to see your dad in his "young" years.

Sarah said...

aw, that was so sweet. I bet your mom just bawled when she read it.

Jill Taylor said...

I bet your mom cried when she read that! Very sweet! I love the pictures of just you and your mom, very beautiful.

Lauren said...

Reading about your mom made me remember some funny things about the years we all spent together. Like the time she made me lick the back of my hand where she dropped some peppermint oil so that my stomachache would go away. I miss her. I miss you, too.

Lauren said...

I forgot to mention that the peppermint oil (I think that's what it was) actually did make it go away...

Anonymous said...

I miss you too, lauren.

Would you like me to send you some more peppermint oil? :)

Kaija said...

That is so cute Ashley! You are amazing! What a good mom you have too! I love the pic with you and your mom at the end! Actually loved all the pics!!

Irene said...

A beautiful and accurate tribute to a wonderful lady.I'm blessed to have her for my daughter.:o)

Smiley Family said...

Moms are the best. I don't know what I would do without mine :)

Jennifer said...

What a loving tribute to a very amazing lady from her wonderfully sweet daughter. I feel very blessed to be part of your family through Brandon.

Unknown said...

Great post about our amazing Mom, Ash. I'm so glad you said all these things. Thanks for all you do and are, Mom!!!