"Mom, you look beautiful!" - I said to her this past Christmas morning. "No I don't, I'm really too fat to be wearing this shirt. Should I change?"

 

Sigh.

 

My mom is the most beautiful woman I know.  It's not just because I love her - quite frankly, she's breath taking (and anyone that meets her or sees her picture says so.)

 

I remember being a little girl and watching her put her make up on - 5'6, olive skin, long, brown, wavy hair, big green eyes, long legs..and 115 pounds soaking wet.  Her smile is/was intoxicating and she has the ability to turn anyone's mood from bad to good in 10 seconds flat. and it's not just her beauty.  She works for the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind.  Her mission in life is to help children with disabilities and to help their families find the resources they need to make their lives easier.  Married at 19, had two children, met the love of her life (now my step father) - left the financial security of my father to take a chance on true love, and all the while, continuing to provide for her two girls and be the best mom on the planet.

 

CANNOT take a compliment.

 

The following foods were apart of her every day diet:

1.) Healthy Choice popcorn

2.) Red Delicious Apples

3.) Celery

4.) Rice Cakes

5.) Healthy Choice Pralines and Cream ice cream

6.) Cup -o- Soup

7.) oh...and Richard Simmons. (not a food but, he knocked out all of the "food" she ate during the day with his spandex shorts and ridiculous high impact aerobics tapes.)

 

There wasn't a day that went by that she wasn't concerned about her outside appearance.  I never understood it!

 

Yesterday, Alan turned to me and said, "You are beautiful."

 

I said, "No I'm not.  I really need to lose 10 pounds..and I'm way too pale for comfort."

 

It dawned on me that I sounded like my mother....and as much as I love her, the fact that she doesn't love who she is on the outside is not a trait that I want to inherit.

 

I may not be a mother, but I have a message to all of you moms out there: Love yourself. Be confident in who you are in front of your children on the outside and inside. Practice good eating habits. When your daughter tells you how beautiful you are, tell them thank you and compliment them back. Trust me; your daughter will thank you for it later.

 

I love you mom :) and PS - You're my favorite woman in the whole wide world.