The ABCs of JMG

Happy birthday Mom!! Today my blog's about my mom

and I'm starting with this rhyme

Because today she's celebrating her birth

for the 79th time.

Most of you know my mom either personally or through me, but here are the facts and only the facts and probably some non-facts, too, to celebrate her 79th birthday.


Advisor. My favorite piece to this day, “You’ve got to learn to ignore those children…”

Bridge player. I think she’s pretty good, although you’d never know it from the Sunday dinner arguments following the Saturday night bridge games. However, the left over bridge mix left on the tables were always a treat for my siblings and I – so it was all worth it!

Catholic. If you went to church with Mom you got there early, sat in the third row and had to pay attention. If you went to church with Dad you got there late, usually had to stand and had to pretend you didn’t know him when he started snoring. It was a toss up every week.

Domino player. Mom doesn’t always remember the rules (although she does) when we have our annual Poconos tournaments, but she still wins.

Elephant lover. She collects them AND she’s a lifelong, diehard, Reagan-loving Republican.

Fair. Mom always says she loves us all the same. Except that I’m her favorite.

Gracious. My mother still sends me mail addressed to Mrs. Robert Rasmussen.

Hip. Mom drove a car before nearly all her peers, took five kids halfway across the country all by herself in the late 1960s and drank Manhattans instead of foofy drinks like whiskey sours and frozen daiquiris.

Intelligent. Seriously. I had to be very crafty with my stories as to why I never seemed to make it to Geometry Class, because she was usually on to me and my stories.

Joker. Mom has the best sense of humor. And she doesn’t even know it.

Knitter. Mom knits mittens and pot holders for her children and grandchildren. And pretty much JUST mittens and potholders. But we LOVE them.

Loving. Well of course she is. She’s MY MOM!

Menagerie. That’s what our house looked like with five kids, two dogs, three or four cats, hamsters, gerbils and once, for about 10 minutes, a couple of chameleons and birds that I was giving away in a Muscular Dystrophy Carnival.

Negotiator. Suffice it to say you don’t want to be sitting across the table from her at a budget or contract negotiation. Or as a teenager in a ‘can I get a new (fill in the blank)’ negotiation.

Optimistic. Mom still thinks the Giants can win the Superbowl. And the season is over.

Pretty. I always thought my mom looked like Liz Taylor, who, by the way, is only about a week younger than my mom and isn't nearly as pretty anymore.

Quiet. When she’s sleeping.

Respected. Continues to be one of the most respected people I know.

School Board Goddess. Seriously she ran the schools when I was a kid and we were all very popular because she was the second person to know if there was going to be a snow day. Of course she was also the second person to know that I skipped school on Senior Cut Day.

“T” lover. She married a guy named Tom and named her children, Tally, Tracy, Terry, T.A. and Tina. And the dog was Tammy. 'Nuff said.

Understanding. Mom was usually pretty understanding when we (and by WE, I mean I) had to call and tell her I’d smashed the car, racked up 147 parking tickets. Or smashed the car.

Volunteer. I inherited the “don’t know how to say NO” gene from my mother. I could list her accomplishments, but I don’t have the bandwidth.

Washer Woman. Mom took the laundry and her infant twins to the Laundromat just about every day we lived in a small cottage while our new house in NY was being built. And with five kids – two still in diapers BEFORE disposables had been invented – that is quite a lot of laundry. I wouldn’t really know, though, because it’s not like I ever offered to do it.

Xylophonist. She’s not, but she noticed my incredible talent with this instrument when I was a mere tot and thus it became the first instrument I ever played. Also, there aren’t a lot of X words out there.

Yankee Fan. At least it's not the Mets.

Zillions and Zillions. That’s how much we love her.