Should I File Frozen Vegetables Under "F" or "V"?

Julia Ward Howe is the mother of all mothers. The author of the Mother's Day Proclamation (Something I didn't know until today,) she was a passive feminist who wrote the proclamation in 1870 as a reaction to the carnage of the American Civil War. It was a call for all women to get candy, perfume, and diamonds one day a year ... Um, no. The proclamation called for women of all nationalities, to protest glorification of war. My mom's kinda cool too.

Whenever I think about my mommy, I think about her encouraging me to draw from instructional books when I was five, telling me to use a condom as a teenager, and cupping her hands to catch my vomit at Toys R Us.

She is the easiest person to tease, and the best at taking such jabs in good spirits. She microwaves all her vegetables, keeps a bicycle tire patch in her spiral bound phone book under "P", is in possession of tupperware older than me, and can clean a T-bone better than any ravenous animal I've ever seen on the Discovery Channel.

We didn't grow up rich or poor, but rather right in the middle. My parents have never had fancy cars or trendy clothes, but I was all but laughed at when I applied for financial aid at college. Money doesn't make being a mom easier. She is the reason I value manners and the thoughtful consideration of others. She worked hard to make me who I am. Thanks ma.