my mom

about a month ago my mom asked for my help to paint her kitchen. this request came soon after i had just finished my living room. i said i would help. of course true to form, bribery was involved. let's face it, i am a lazy person these days and do not live up my free time with out something. so when mom asked i quickly demanded her famous homemade chocolate chip cookie. she not only said yes but threw in some bagels and lox. 
yes, i can be bribed and that was my price. 
my mom does not ask for a lot in life. a card on her birthday and mother's day, daily emails, and a visit once a month. i know you are saying, " once a month? that's rude.".
well since i do live 80 miles from her (one way peeps!) i do have to plan these things out and when you have ms and chrons, your life becomes one long thought out schedule.
i have to say my mom is good about it. she rather me be healthy than anything else. 
my mom has always been great. sure we had our arguements over the years, but hey haven't we all? my mom is a tough cookie herself. she has been through a lot and never gives up. 
she took care of my dad when he was sick, she always made sure my sister had what we needed and never failed to say "i love you".  i would love to say my parents were jerks, just to beef this up but i can't. i have/had a wonderful mom and dad. i am lucky. 
so where was i going with this? oh yea, painting the kitchen. 
well we finally picked a day to paint. mom had done most of the work and i just had the ceiling to do. now normally this would be an easy thing but since the kitchen table and everything else was still in the room, it was not an easy thing. plus the ceiling fan was still up. as i am trying to paint, i am getting paint every where. as i am painting, i am picturing a million different versions about to happen when my mom came home. she was working at the time. i had paint on the floor, the cabniets, the fan blades and everything else. 
i am picturing her yelling at me for getting paint everywhere, missing places etc. 
funny thing, she walks in the door and tells me what a great job i have done. now personally, i am not thrilled with it but she it. that is one thing i did not get from my parents, OCD!!! i look at it and i cringe. when i hit the fan blades again, all my mom can say, "it's the top of the blade, who is going to see it?" now this statement is something we do share because i tried to use that same logic when we had to move everything out of the living room when we painted. 
when all was done i helped her clean up and then we sat and talked. i have to admit going home at times kind of creeps me out because i still expect after almost 6 years my dad to walk in to the room. a lot has changed in that house. now when you walk in, dad is not sitting at the kitchen table watching tv, the living room is neater since my junk is not there, my bedroom is now a den/computer room and when you walk in you are staring straight at my nephew's face. 
how long does it take before i can walk in to mom's and not miss my dad being there? how my mom does it, is amazing. i know at times she thinks she can still hear him shout something across the room, i do too when i am there. 
my mom is not only brave but the best mom and grandma. my only wish is for my mom to stick around a long, long, long, long while. not for just me but for my nephew. i want her to be there for all the milestone's in his life like my grandparents were there for me and my sister. <3 mom!!!