HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER

dear mom,

the other night before i went to bed i stayed up late reading a parenting book on the couch. it was about a woman living in france and how she'd noticed that french children were better behaved than american children. she says it has to do with the french mothers, who they have higher standards for patience and manners in their children than us americans. they make it their number one priority to teach their kids to be polite and have manners, and then they make sure they have plenty of time for themselves and a rich life outside of motherhood. the author was somewhat enchanted by this. parents might not exist just to spoil their kids or to raise "the best?" WHO KNEW.

at one point in the beginning i started smiling and didn't stop until the last page. i couldn't help myself. apparently france is full of julie lovins. mom, you are so trendy right now.

growing up i knew you were something special. i could tell by how you dressed, by how you gave attention to others, and by how you cultivated yourself as a priority in the middle of raising us girls. i knew there was more to you than "just my mom." and because of it i knew that when you wanted something of me, it was something worth giving. i knew that what you expected from me was something worth living up to. 

i find myself holding lots of in-depth conversations with mr. henry holbrook these days. sometimes (most times) we're talking about lions or monkeys (they say "wahhh!' and "ah-ah!"), but a lot of the time we're talking about what we expect from him. he's still such a baby, but there's a big, smart boy in there. there is so much more wisdom in that noggin than some might think. i look at him and i think of you, and sometimes i feel a little overwhelmed with the responsibility i have of doing right by him, and of doing right by you, too.  i owe it to all three of us to be the mother i was raised to be.

thank you for always being such a class act. and happy birthday! may there always be twenty pounds of turquoise m&ms from times square for you in your candy bowl.