Happy Mother's Day

What a special Mother's Day.

At this moment, I am surrounded by some of the most amazing women in my life celebrating all the love they've give me and all their children. More special, it's my first mother's day. My son reminds me daily that I am indeed already a mom, and it's my day to reflect on all the motherly figures in my life.

Most important: my mom.

My Mom is incredible. She had me when she was only 21, when she and my dad were poor, and growing up we wore friends' hand-me-downs and brought our own cheese to McDonalds because we couldn't afford the extra cost of a cheeseburger but my mom knew that we only liked cheeseburgers, not plain hamburgers.

My mom raised three girls, baked us cookies, told us about life and boys and God. She taught us morality, strength and how to be independent. When I was in high school, she went back to school and got her Bachelor's degree. Then she got her Master's degree and was one of 3 in her large class to pass the CPA exam on her first try. Since then, she's worked her way up in her career and is up for partner of her company in the fall. She's the best example of working hard, enjoying leisure and being there.

I can call my mom any time of any day, and she'll answer. We talk about stupid stuff like whether to put a blue and white striped shirt in the whites or the darks and big stuff like whether I'm ready to be a mother. I love her, and I'm so thankful for the relationship we've built over the last few years.

Bryan's mom or my second mom.

What an incredible woman. When I first met her, I loved her. She was sweet and Southern and she took me to PF Changs for the first time (for me). At the beginning, she was weary of Bryan's petting of my hair and our cuddling on the couch. And when I visited, she often tried to get me to sleep in Brooke's room rather than Bryan's. Her love for Bryan is incredible. He really is her greatest joy and biggest pride. She loves that guy so much. Now, carrying my son, I know how she feels. I will be her in 31 years. I hope that I can love my son as much as she loves Bryan.

And she loves me as her own. When we got engaged, I was in the family. Now, she will send me little presents and ask questions about my life, my work and my favorite things as if I were her daughter. Through the cancer, I have been the "outsider" that she can make confessions to about how she feels about the cancer and her family.

She knows how to make the best desserts, how to shop, what's worth splurging on, how to vacation and is the sweetest lady when it comes to planning for the baby. She likes to let us decide what we want and then tell us it's a great idea. And then tells stories of her and Bryan. I can't wait for her to meet the baby!

My grandma and my aunt

These women have been a huge influence on my life.

My Grandma is easily the one I most resemble out of all my relatives in personality. She's spunky, funny, ditzy and a fan of delicious food. She is so much fun and the connector of all the family. She reminds us to include everyone, she sends cards for every birthday and holiday, she is just the best grandma you could ask for!

My aunt is the cool aunt. Growing up, she was the coolest and even now, she's got the most helpful advice and realistic outlook on life. She speaks her mind and starts little fights for fun. I love her. She also has two young boys who I adore and I am so excited to have my boy play with hers! She isn't a great cook, and she's proud of it. She's a confident, bad ass aunt.

Anytime I come home, I make a point to go to their houses, but they will be over my parents' house without question. I love spending time with them and hearing what they think about jobs, babies, and family stuff.

My sisters
They aren't really my moms, but they are motherly.

In a family of strong women, you can bet the three of us are going to be strong, outspoken women.

Caralyn is only a year and three months younger than me, and she is very bossy. She's polite when I first get home, but within an hour or two, she's telling me how terrible I am at peeling potatoes or how my outfit is "interesting" or something else. She tells it like it is. She is also very traditional, so I think she finds my comedy and my weird relationship with Bryan to be weird. She likes it, I think, but I think we're the crazy ones. I like that about Cari: her normalcy. She's a fun girl who likes order, rules and following through. She's a serious girl, and she's not afraid to tell me when I'm ruining the plans she had. I don't mess with her!

Michelle is the baby sister, agreeable and fun and probably the family favorite. She cookes good food, plays good music and has funny stories. She's undeniably cool with vacations to Paris (just because) and a boyfriend who spoils her with shopping sprees and fancy, romantic dinners (just because). She works her ass off to pay for her car, apartment and fun things. She's my go to person for advice. She just gets it. She will tell me I'm stupid for being jealous. She will get me excited about stuff like babies. She will tell me that we'll get drunk together at Christmas. I really cherish my relationship with her. She's more a mother to me than I am to her. She's got her life together!

And then there's me.

I'm a mom without a kid to watch. I'm just a mom with a kid to feed. Soon, I'll have my baby outside of me and I'm sure it gets harder. For now, I'm cherishing the quiet, strange relationship I have with my son inside of me. I love him already. I am so excited to meet him, to learn about him, to see him grow. I imagine next mother's day will be interesting and perhaps I'll have some wisdom to impart or sweet failures to share or adorable pictures to post.

But for now, all I've got is anticipation, excitment and hope.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and motherly figures out there!