Thanks Mom, Part of the Thanks Giving Series

My mom will be surprised by this post. I don't think she realizes how grateful I am for the life lessons she has taught me. She is not always an optimist. I like to call her my little gray storm cloud, but she has taught me to see the world in a way I like. I hope to do as well teaching my daughters.

So, thanks Mom for teaching me:

1. Never be defined from outside yourself. Never let anyone else tell you who you are.

2. You can be anything you want to be, and I will love you no matter what you are.

3. Be colorblind. Race does not matter.

4. Men can cook and women can mow the lawn. I will never forget getting the answers wrong on a matching worksheet in kindergarten because I matched the mommy to the lawnmower and the daddy to the stove. Despite my repeated objections, the teacher still marked my answers wrong. What can I say? Thanks to my mom, I was ahead of my time, at least for Gotebo, Oklahoma, circa 1975.

5. Stand up for what you believe, even when you won't be rewarded for it, perhaps especially when you won't be rewarded for it.

6. Appreciate nature, respect it, and care for it.

7. It's okay to be different. Different is good.

8. Don't care so much about what other people think.

9. Janis Joplin, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones rock.

10. Don't judge others. They're not perfect and neither are you.

One last thing, thanks for being the cool mom. There is just not much better in fifth grade than the day your mom picks you up in a flaming orange Corvette.