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| On this day, twenty three years ago, this woman gave me life. |
1. Once, I was being a stinker. (Okay, I was a stinker much more than once. But I'm thinking about one particular time.) My mom called me something rude. I believe it was, "Poophead." And I really did deserve it, so I went about my day, somewhat subdued. Later she apologized. That day I learned, "Hmm. I should apologize to people." Even when I would have to swallow a lot of pride, and even when I'm not 100% at fault."
2. My mother does not wear earrings. She does not wear pink, she does not wear accessories (that bracelet in the picture? I made that.), and she only wears skirts when absolutely necessary. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 20, and I was living with nine other girls. But for Christmas one year, she gave me a pair of clip-on earrings. She said that even though she would never wear them, she wanted me to have them if I wanted. She was going to let me be Holly.
3. Our family moved when I was entering third grade. Making new friends was difficult for me. (I was a bit of an odd child.) We were all getting ready to go to school one day, and I just randomly burst into tears. I couldn't really talk, but between gasps I managed to blurt out, "I don't have any friends." She didn't laugh, she didn't give me a lecture about social skills, she didn't tell me to stop crying and get my shoes on. She was just there for me.
