My mom -- da bomb

            My mom's birthday is tomorrow and I'll be celebrating long distance with her as she lives in Louisiana. She said she wanted slippers, and so I sent those, but pink house shoes don't quite fill the ticket for someone who's added so much to our lives.

            On this her 82nd birthday, I want to thank my mother for the little things she's given to me and our family over the years.

            A love of music. I remember listening to my mom sing in the kitchen while she was cooking dinner. She had a beautiful voice but I took her talent for granted.

            Mom always sang songs from Broadway shows, and we all love the great musicals – "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "West Side Story" and Mom's favorite, "The Sound of Music." I can't hear a Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass song in an elevator and not think of her.

            A love of the movies. On Sunday afternoons, I remember snuggling with my mother and sisters on the couch and watching old black-and-white movies. Not only did I learn an appreciation for the 1950s tear jerkers, but I knew their back stories.

             A love for Elizabeth Taylor. Growing up, I thought we were related to Elizabeth Taylor because of the way my mom talked about the super star. "Oh, poor Liz is having back trouble," she'd say and I'd think one of our cousins wasn't feeling well.

            Mom kept up with all of Liz's divorces, clucking her tongue after each break up. The only time she was ever angry with Liz was after she married Eddie Fisher, believing Liz broke up Debbie Reynolds' marriage.

            She's a fabulous grandparent. Mom, or Siti as she's called, knows every one of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren personally and each one will tell you she doesn't play favorites. Then quietly they'll whisper that they're secretly her favorite.

            She's a fair mother-in-law to all seven of her children's spouses and quietly fulfills the role of mother for my in-laws whose parents have passed away.

            A sense of humor gets you through a lot. My father was the joke teller in the family. He could set up a punch line and deliver the ka-pow to a joke better than anyone. But he didn't have a sense of humor – that talent belongs to my Mom.

            She sees the humor in life faster than anyone else, a reminder that a bit of laughter will get you through the toughest days.

            She walks the talk. Mom goes to Mass every Sunday but loves those of her children who don't follow that example. She taught us that nothing beats having family sit down together for a Sunday meal and no matter what, you always fix guests something to eat.

            At Christmas, if an unexpected guest comes along, Mom goes into her closet, pulls out an appropriate gift and wraps it so our guests won't feel awkward. All of us, in-laws included, now have guest gifts tucked away in our closets.

            Kindness. My mother put up with quite a bit in her life – a bitter mother, a mother-in-law and husband who did their best to cut her to the quick with their criticisms and never having enough money to give her children the material things she wanted them to have.

            But Mom, on your 82nd birthday, I want you to know you gave us everything and more we needed to be successful, kind, thoughtful and happy in life. You gave us your heart, and that gift is the best one any child can have.

            So Happy Birthday, Mom. You're da bomb.

 This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.