Reason #1: Her spaghetti sauce and chili taste better than anyone else's spaghetti sauce and chili.
Reason #2: She bought Betsy and me Easter bikinis instead of Easter dresses when we were little.
Reason #3: She never told me I shouldn't become engaged to someone I had only known for 8 weeks when I was only 21 years old.
Reason #4: She never said "I told you so" when it didn't work out.
Reason #5: She worked the overnight shift, fifty miles from home when that was the only way to pay for prep school for her kids.
Reason #6: She let me have as many pets and ponies as I wanted when I was a kid. She never said no to any request to bring a new critter home.
Reason #7: She filled our house with books and never bought a color television until I was in college.
Reason #8: She ran for city council as a 27 year old with three little kids at home.
Reason #9: She used to date one of the Beach Boys.
Reason #10: Her interview with Ken Kesey, circa 1976, is the best ever written.
Reason #11: She always find money to pay for LOTS of Christmas gifts for other families.
Reason #12: She is intolerant of whiners and malingerers.
Reason #13: She took up fly-fishing after age 50.
Reason #14: She never forgets her godchildren's birthdays or special events.
Reason #15: She paid my rent last month.
Reason #16: She spoke out against beauty pageants for kids as editor of the local newspaper, even though it made everyone in town really mad at her.
Reason #17: She loves dogs and horses.
Reason #18: She passed down her love of throwing parties to all three of her kids.
Reason #19: She used to coach youth softball.
Reason #20: She knows grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules inside and out.
Reason #21: She drives a red sportscar.
Reason #22: She is able to make any plant or flower grow and thrive.
Reason #23: She still lives only three blocks from her brother and parents.
Reason #24: She likes to read The National Enquirer and true crime in the bath tub.
Reason #25: She sang on a hit single in 1963.
Reason #26: She keeps old friends and makes new ones.
Reason #27: She taught me the importance of thank-you notes.
Reason #28: She never missed a horse show, play, 4-H dairy show, or ball game for twenty years.
Reason #29: The day I told her I was pregnant with her first grandchild, she showed up with a beautiful, lace-covered bassinet.
Reason #30: She speaks out against the death penalty more eloquently than anyone I know.
Reason #31: She's very funny.
Reason #32: She taught me the meaning of "never let them see you sweat" and a lot about grace and dignity when she was terribly wronged by other people.
Reason #33: She takes riding lessons.
Reason #34: She taught me to always stick up for and stand by my siblings, no matter what.
Reason #35: I can't recall her ever complaining during many, many years of living on very little money.
Reason #36: She still believes in Santa Claus 100% and has passed down her love of Johnny Mathis Christmas carols.
Reason #37: She was the first girl reporter to be invited to "Navy Day" for student journalists after she complained to the Secretary of the Navy that the boys-only policy was sexist.
Reason #38: She kept Ms. Magazine around the house while we were growing up.
Reason #39: She tells me I can do anything I want to do if I work hard enough.
Reason #40: She is an eternal optimist and taught her children that at least 75% of feeling good is a personal choice.
Reason #41: My children love her.
Reason #42: My nieces and nephews love her.
Reason #43: She pays for me to take riding lessons 'cause I can't and she wants me to be able to ride.
Reason# 44: She taught me about karma by example and she truly tries to live by the Golden Rule.
Reason# 45: She always encouraged any and all of my friends to come over and visit any time and to stay as long as they wanted. She still does!
Reason #46: She took us to church every Sunday even though she was tired from working hard all week.
Reason #47: She made being a working mother look easy.
Reason #48: She's a really good writer.
Reason# 49: She taught us that good manners are important, and she told us we should treat everyone with equal respect, whether it was a congressman or the man who mows the lawn.
Reason# 50: I love my mama!
