Happy Birthday Mom

She is a great listener and confidant. She's a grandma, auntie and friend. She'll call my cell phone just to hear the sound of my voice. She understands when I don't answer. She has a contagious laugh and isn't embarrassed by it even though you might be. She cares about everyone. People look to her to make their day brighter. She encourages me and supports everthing I do. She has pretty fingernails. She misses her own mom. When she looks in the mirror she sees glimpses of her mom and it makes her remember. She loves to talk on the phone and will leave a 5 minute message on your machine without realizing it. She likes to tell your machine why you are not answering. Her favorite things are her kids and her grandkids and her little itty bitty kitty. She loves us with all her heart. She hum-sings. When's she trying to stop something from falling she says, "uuooo, uuooo, uuooo" (which sounds like "shoe, shoe, shoe" without the sh-sound). Both Angie and I do the same thing. She is allergic to mosquito bites. She went to beauty school. Her special recipes are wine cake (but she uses orange juice when she makes it for me), spinach torte and chicken cacciatore. She says things are "sharp" when she means they are really cool. She's only ever lived in California and Alaska. She only counts Alaska because her second baby girl was born there. She gives great hugs. Her name is Lorraine which means "From Lorraine, a province in France". She is not French. She was born and raised in San Francisco. She loves seeing the Monterey Bay from her window each morning. She can't wait to retire. She loves that my sister and I are creative and truly appreciates our creations. She is never mean. When she found out that my dad had cancer, she dropped everything and rushed to Missouri to be with me. She is thoughtful even though she doesn't remember a lot of things. She loves ice cream and cookies but they don't love her. She taught me to love bread and salami. The only thing artificial about her are her hips. She is the real thing. She is my mom and I love her.