My Mother Dearest.

I have this pretty, fun, amazing, talented, loving Mother and it just so happens to be her birthday today! 
She really is one-of-a-kind and such an important person in my life! I am SO grateful that she has been the one to raise me, care for me, teach me, and love me unconditionally. I wouldn't be the person I am today without her raising me and being an example to me. 
 

Bottom line: She is the BEST Mom there is, and here is why:

  She puts her family first. Ever since I could remember, my Mom LOVES her Family more than anything in this world. She talks to her parents weekly and even sometimes her brothers. But she loves to hear from her kids away from home. She wants to keep up with all of our crazy and different lives because it is important to her, and we can see that. She wants to know about the little things that give us joy, or the things that will make us sad. No matter what the situation is, whether big or small, she wants to know about it because what is important to us, is important to her. She treats her kids as individuals and will never favor one over the other. She loves each of us as separate people who she cares for and loves equally. I can speak for all the kids when I say that we got SUPER lucky to have been raised my incredible mother!

 

She's a hard worker. She has been quite the super Mom raising 5 crazy kids! Once a few of us were out of the house, she started a job and has gone to working full time. But she makes her best efforts at work (really, they are lucky to have her) and then will come home after a long day and stay busy around the house whether it's making dinner, helping the kids with assignments, taxiing them to their different activities, and keeping the house looking spic and span until she crashes a few hours later. Luckily, she has my wonderful Dad around to help her with these things as well, but she is a working machine! I don't know how she has so much energy at the end of the day. Good thing she can squeeze in her 10 minute power naps a day. I don't know how those energize her, but they work!

 

She is a Mom that likes to have fun! She'll come play tennis during those humid summer nights, she'll be outside hitting the ball with my dog, she'll be out at the pool with us for an afternoon under the sun, she'll even join in on some random dance parties with crazy daughters, she'll watch youtube videos with us over and over again and laugh just as much as we do, she'll ski while we spend the day at the lake, she'll be standing and cheering as crazy and as loud as me at Braves games while we get stares from lame, boring viewers, and she'll join in on our late night runs to Dairy Queen for some good ice cream. That list could go on forever. But let's just say, she is a crack up and will keep me laughing with the things she says and does. When her kids become super hyper and crazy, she is right alongside us. She has a great sense of humor and is SO fun to be around!

 

She is my #1 Supporter. Whenever I make any decision in my life, she will be the first to give me approval and support. She may not even realize how much she has helped me when I was going through school. She would push me through to make it through the tough days to get to the final goal, which was graduation. And she was there for me to celebrate that great accomplishment and it meant the world to me.

She is a great listener. I can't how many times I have just called her to ramble on about something and she will just sit there and listen. Then I have to go somewhere and end the conversation without even getting an update from her (what kind of daughter am I?) I probably bore her half the time with my stories, but she will never make it known to me. She will just sit there and listen and be interested in what I have to tell her. Whenever I need to vent about anything (which let's get real, this happens often), I know I can turn to her and she won't mind. And the other thing that is so amazing to me is that she CARES about it all and will understand me. She will put everything aside in her busy life to listen to mine. So selfless. Seriously, what a great Mom I have.

She is also one of the most stylish women I know! Seriously, I only WISH I could have the clothes she had and look adorable in all of them! She probably gets embarrassed by my choice of clothing sometimes cause most days I just prefer a big sweatshirt and sweat pants. I love coming home cause Callie and I will both raid through her closet to find something to wear. I.want.her.clothes

She is musically talented. Let's just say that if you're a Calvert, you HAVE to be musically talented. My grandparents and some Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins are SO talented! My Mom has a BEAUTIFUL singing voice and can play almost anything that you put in front of her on the piano. And you can tell she loves it! It makes me super jealous because I know I'm nowhere near as good at singing and definitely not even close to how well she plays the piano. I think if I keep working at both of those, MAYBE I can be almost as good as she is one day. Really, she is so lucky she has been blessed with those talents. Just talking about it makes me want to work hard at those things that I just let slip away from me. Thanks for the motivation Mama Cita!

She is gorgeous! Seriously, people think that she is my sister because she looks so young and is SO tiny! That's a great compliment to me! (I just hope I am blessed with those genes for my later years.) She definitely doesn't look as old as is she is turning today. Don't you worry Mom, you don't look like you are in your 50's.

I just had to put this in here. But ever since I was a baby, seriously, like when I wore diapers, we started coming to this amazing Chinese place. And these ladies have watched me grow up and it is always such a crack up to go there (which is every time I am home) and hear them say the same things over and over again. But they always do say how beautiful my Mama is and how she looks so young.  I couldn't agree more.

She loves sports. Growing up with 5 brothers (one brave woman), one had to of known that she was going to have to watch or go to sporting events whether she liked it or not. Well, she LOVES them! Baseball (duh), Football, Basketball, everything! She has put her kids in sports and will be at every single game not just to be a supporting Mom, but because she really enjoys them! Sometimes she'll even be the first one to mention watching a game together before my brothers or even me with Braves (shocking I know). And bless her heart, since I can't watch every single Braves game out in Utah, she will constantly be texting or calling me through out games that I'm not watching to update me. She is my personal sports broadcaster. I'm super thankful she was raised liking sports cause my siblings and I have been raised liking sports. It makes for a good time around World Series, Super Bowls, College Football Bowl Games, and NBA finals. We can throw some pretty good parties at the Sant casa during those games. So here's a shout out to the mother for raising me to love sports! Obviously this is something my family is passionate about so deal.

She is a fantastic cook! If you've had her food, you know what I'm talking about. For those who haven't, you are totally missing out! The moment I would come home from school, almost always I would ask what was for dinner. She has always made the best meals! It's one thing I look forward to every time I go home. She can even make a simple grilled cheese taste SO much better than the one's I make. It's the "Mother's touch". She has always made great food for her family. She is a walking recipe book- she has so many recipes that she has just memorized, it's incredible! I'm hoping that I will be able to do that one day and have my children love the food I make as much as I have loved and enjoyed my Mom's.

 

Last but certainly, not least, not only is she my mother, but she is one of my best friends. She is the most kinda, loving, caring, patient, and understanding Mother. I know that I can turn to her for anything at ANYTIME of the day, which can be hard sometimes with the 2 hour time difference. But I know without a doubt that she will be there for me through anything, supporting me and pushing me along. She wants nothing more than for me to be happy and I can see that through her words and actions.  I have loved spending the majority of my life watching her example and hoping to become half as great as the mother she is one day. She is a huge blessing in my life and wouldn't be the person I am today without her!

Happy Happy Birthday to the most AMAZING mom in the world! I love you so much! Hope you've had a fantastic day! :)