Here is a song for my mommy... It's off of Taylor Swift's new album, Fearless.

My Mommy's comment on my 21st Birthday...

I figured since she had posted this as a comment on one of my blogs, I could post it for everyone to see...

I do this because my mother is not only the best mother anyone can ask for and my best friend, but she is my hero and my mentor... I can only hope to be half the woman she is one day.

So here's to you mommy!

Happy 21st birthday to a daughter far away...that's right today is my daughter, Cassie's, 21st birthday. Can you believe that I am the mother of a 21 year old? I had her when I was 20 years old...I now know how young that seems, but for those of you whom do not know me, I have been accused of being an "old" soul. When I first became pregnant with her my entire family blew the proverbial panty...but hey, I have always been one to walk to the beat of my own drum. I was having a baby and no one could talk me out of it.

My decision to have her at such a young age has never been anything but pure delight. She is the most precious child any mother could ever dream of having. Everything about her has always been easy, accomodating, kind, thoughtful, empathetic, intelligent, and hopeful. I so wish that all of you could get to know her, if she is the future of this world then the future is filled with hope and promise.

She was always the girl that welcomed all the new kids into the fold, and embraced each of their quirkly personality traits as marks of beauty and honored uniqueness. I still remember the time when she came home and told me that she wanted red hair, braces, AND glasses! Because her new little friend had all of these and she wanted to be just as wonderful as her! I still to this day have hanging on my wall a piece she wrote about herself in 1st grade. It said: the best thing about Cassie is that she is kind. (Yep, she hit it right on the spot!)

When her brother, Randy, was a baby and she was just 5 years old, my husband and I worked together for his tree pruning/landscaping business. We ran it out of our shop at the house and at the time employed about 15 people...needless to stay I counted on Cassie to help me with Randy. It was her job to let me know when he woke up from his naps and what not. One time I was especially busy, and Randy was not the easiest of babies, well anyhoo he woke up and was bawling at the top of his lungs to get out of his crib, but I was in the middle of a professional phone call, Cassie had been calling me on the baby monitor to let me know Randy was wanting out of his crib...I know I did not come running like I usually do, and after 5 minutes of begging me to come get him, she came running out to the shop with tears streaming down her face asking me..."don't you love him anymore?". At the time it was nerve racking, now I think it is funny, while at the same time touching. (Can you believe I have probably scarred her and him for life from my neglect on that day!)

She always cared and loved him...even to this day, with her halfway around the world in France...she knows what is going on in his life before I ever do. They text each other on almost a daily basis. Early this fall, when Randy was sliding deep into his dark place, she was the one who went to the High School to talk to the counselors about her concern for him, and started the ball rolling with us getting him some outside help. I hope they keep their close relationship for the rest of their lives, because lets face it when their Dad and I are gone they will hopefully still have each other. I mean who else can relate to growing up with a mother who vacuums, hammers, and drills things in the middle of the night. Who else had a mother that told you to "lick it, and suck it up!". Who else had a father that actually taught you how to take the wheels off of an old
skateboard and use it as a smaller and extremely faster non-navigational snowboard on the hill in the back yard? Who else grew up in a house with a zip-line? And who else could continue to tease her about her J-Lo tush and her severe phobia of deer???

She has always been one to know just exactly what kind of mood I am in and what she needs to do when things are stressful or I am feeling the blues creeping in (fortunately for her she does not have my propensity for depression). She started actually manning my store at the age of 12 (geez but I have put some high standards on that girl!) and she did a great, no a fantabulous job...she was better at running the store and dealing with the customers than 75% of the ladies that worked there!

She's the kind of girl, that other girls talk bad about because they are jealous of her confidence. I remember when she was in High School and her counselor actually was giving her lessons on not being so intimidating (can you believe that male imposed shit?) it infuriated me when I found out, but then I found out that Cassie wanted to know what she could do to not be so threatening to other girls. She is also the type of girl that all of the parents of the boys she hung out with (she was mostly friends with boys because it was easier than dealing with the drama of girls)wanted their sons to date her, not just be her friend. She could eat at the house of a differen't boy almost every night of the week, because the parents liked her so much. She was also the kind of girl that was asked and entrusted to babysit the children of her teachers!

And now at this point in time in her life, she is the type of girl, oops I mean young woman, that strikes up conversations with the French Ambassador to the United States and then gets to spend the entire week with the French entourage posing as a French diplomat for the Democratic National Convention. But she is also the type of girl that still calls her mother, Mommy. :) I like to kid myself that I have had some influence on her life, but she is way smarter, prettier, and braver than I have ever dreamed of being. I just hope as she embarks on her wonderful life journey she won't forget about her hill-billy roots and still finds pride in calling herself and her mother trailer-park-trash. But mostly I hope when asked to describe herself, I hope she still says: The most important thing about Cassie is that she is kind.

Happy Birthday Cassandra Sue, I wish you a lifetime of happiness, friends to laugh with, a child to warm your soul like you have mine, and a never ending trail of adventures!

Mommy

October 14, 2008 7:12 PM

My 21st Birthday Celebration!!!

I know this was over a month ago, but I figured I could post some pictures and put some lil anecdotes up that my mother would approve of (and that won't hurt my impending political career).

Overall the day of my birthday was rather uneventful... I saw all my friends and what not throughout the day at the CLA (where I take my French classes) and everything was pretty much normal. I asked Megan what we were going to do that night and she just told me to not worry about it... So I knew she had planned something.

When I got back to the dorm, I saw Matt, my Canadian neighbor and closest guy friend, and he told me to be ready to leave around 6:30 or 7:00 pm-ish. I was excited and started to get ready for the night. I put on my wonderful yellow dress designed and hand-crafted by the one-and-only Sara Price.

Matt and I rode the bus and then walked to Megan's house, where I was greeted by Megan, and her two roommates, Sigrid and her boyfriend, and Oda, who are also my friends. Megan had prepared a traditional "American" meal of green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and French's claim of a steak. It was delicious! After we had finished, everyone else showed up and the party began!

(here is where I will now show photos, if you want specifics email me ha ha)

This is my Birthday Cake Megan made in her toaster oven... that's how we bake around here ha ha

And here I am blowing out the cake. The girls bought me a boa, a pink whistle and the crown to wear all night... :)

The first toast of the night!

Here is everyone in the hall playing some sort of riddle games or something... I wasn't too interested in it at the time... ha ha

Meg and I in the bathroom of Madigan's, my second home.

And me behind the bar at Madigan's... I guess I was bartending a lil bit that night...

Overall, it was a great night as I was surrounded by people who care about me, I had lots of fun, and I slept like a baby...