my mom

I grew up with the coolest mom in the world!
Today is her birthday, so I wanted to post a little tribute to her.
I give you a list of my favorite Peggy-isms:

“It’s rude to sing at the table.”
Why are there so many rules about what is appropriate at the table? In our home, all the table rules were strictly enforced when we were children. But as we’ve grown up (and my parents have mellowed out) we never have a dull family meal. As long as we aren’t in the company of non-family members, almost anything goes. Yep, I’m proud to be Queen of the Burpers. My mom is cringing right now! Don’t worry Mom. I’m confident that the rules stuck, and I wouldn’t completely embarrass you if invited to dinner with the President.

“Tan fat always looks better than pale fat.”
Mom has always had a tan. As a girl, I was amazed at her ability to achieve such a deep, golden glow every summer. Of course she had several skin cancer spots removed a few years ago, but we won’t talk about that.

“Everything tastes better on good china.”
We never used paper plates. Never. I sure am thankful, because apparently our dinner wouldn’t have tasted as good if we had.

“Don’t roll your eyes. It’s rude.”
Oh my goodness. I heard this constantly! I admit, I had the eye roll down to a science and even knew how to change it a little in reaction to certain situations. Despite that, I never admitted to the eye roll. I always said I didn’t do it. Mom was just seeing things. I mean, she does have bad eyesight. I’ll never forget the day my Dad took up for me on this subject. He told Mom that my eyes were just so big that if I cut them to the side it looked like I was rolling them. Hahaha! I smirked with delight at that one. After all, I did get the big expressive eyes from him.

“You can tell a lot about a person by her shoes, so don’t ever wear shoes with worn heels.”
This is a good one, but it haunts me. I’m always looking at shoes. I notice the ragged heels on some women’s shoes and think, “Bless her heart. Her mom didn’t teach her anything.” I also think about it every time I start to slip my foot into a favorite shoe that is getting a little tattered. Sometimes I pull it back out and go for a nicer looking pair, but if I’m feeling rebellious, I’ll wear them anyway.

“Be ye kind.”
Seriously Mom, did you have to speak in King James English?!
She usually said this after my brother and I had a fight or war of words.

“Stand like a lady.”
For a really long time I had a bad habit of standing like a professional football player-legs far apart and bad posture. I’m proud to say I’ve conquered that one thanks to Mom’s reminders.

“Never say never.”
I always liked hearing the story of how Mom and Dad met. When she was growing up she always said she’d never marry a preacher. Ha! So she’d always end the story of meeting and dating dad with, “Never say never.” I took it to heart. I didn’t say I’d never marry a preacher. I just told God I would be the worst preacher’s wife ever, but it was His choice!

“You shouldn’t wear white shoes after Labor Day.”
Mom is good with fashion advice. She taught me not to mix black and brown or wear gold and silver jewelry together. It’s funny, because those rules don’t apply anymore-you can even mix black and navy! But one thing is certain; you will NOT catch me in white shoes after the first weekend in September.

“She’s just jealous.”
This was my Mom’s response anytime someone was unkind to me. It didn’t matter what the circumstances were. It was always a jealousy issue. Jealous of what exactly? We never delved into that…just jealous. Ha! So talk bad about me if you want, but I’ll just assume you’re jealous. 😉

“They just need the Lord.”
Anytime someone was mean to her or did something ugly in front of my brother and me she would tell us that people acted that way, because they didn’t know Jesus. It made perfect sense to our little minds. She said it not too long ago and I laughed so hard I almost choked. Oh Mom. I know it’s probably true, but it sounds funny to hear you say it now!

A few fun pictures from the Birthday Celebration: