My Biggest Fan

Marion Theresa Fite, Teri to everyone else(don't ask me why people name their kids things and then don't call them that) my mom, the kids' Grammy aka Mimi. No matter what post I do about her, it will not do her justice. I have been thinking about doing a post on her for months, but every time I start to write, I feel as if the words lack the emotion that goes with the love I have for her. But, I figured the time was due since she just left after hanging with us for several days while Gregg was in New Zealand. And when I say hanging...I mean she left the place better than it was when she got here. We miss her terribly. My dirty floors and piles of laundry do too.

Most people know that she was a young mom, actually still is a young mom. She is only 51(for everyone doing the math in your head, she had me at 16). 16, yes, pregnant at 15 and mom to me 5 months later. That basically makes her a Mom all her life. She was also a single mom. I am glad that I have a young mom, I know I don't really know any different, but it has made us the best of friends. We talk every day, sometimes 10 times a day if there is a good sale going on or some drama in the family. She doesn't look at the caller ID and think; oh I will call her back or let her leave a message. She looks at the caller ID and thinks...the princess is calling. She is the only person I know who will always answer her phone, no matter the hour. Little Vance tests her on this all the time. She even talks to him for hours in the middle of the night while he is driving back to TN, so he won't fall asleep on the road. After having Christian, I totally get this now. She is the most selfless person I have ever met. She would drive all night to come and see you, buy you anything you ever wanted, cook a meal, watch your kids, pray with you over the phone, call to check in, even if she was way too tired, you would never know it. She never puts herself first. I think she has always been in "take care of everyone else" mode since she had younger siblings and then I came along. I would totally hire her, she is the hardest worker, . She is my biggest fan...she would be down on the front row saving seats for every big event. She makes me feel special, like I am the best daughter in the whole world. She sends me birthday cards every day the week of my birthday, even to my office when I was working. My favorite card is the one where she said I was a human sparkler. She has kept every card anyone has ever given her, hence the reason I still have the sparkler card. She is the research queen. She checks out 100s of book from the library and never reads them all, then pays the fines, and rechecks them out. She is a mom to all of my friends and Mimi to their kids. She's a great cook and makes a mean birthday cake...pink and strawberry of course. She is a perfectionist and throws the best parties. She is fair and just and a littlelot black and white. She would say sorry for stuff that wasn't even her fault. She can sew and made all of my window treatments and even covered a chair. I telling her if she really loved me, she would recover me a chair. Her love stops there, she said it was way too much work. She is the VIP at TJMaxx and Marshalls. They know her order at the Mexican rest down the street. Her and my brother always order together and share two things. She loves candy...all kinds of candy, old school stuff, mike and ikes, good and plenty, and spicettes. She is the reason I eat Oreos for breakfast and think it is normal. She doesn't let me get away with anything and that is a good thing. I am not allowed to complain about Gregg to her. He is perfect in her eyes. He also isn't allowed to get boring gifts for Christmas; she buys him Playstations and stuff he really wants instead of boring gifts for the house.

She believes in me and gave me the confidence to be anything I wanted to be. She never commented on my looks or weaknesses. I wasn't the skinniest kid and it was never made an issue in our family about our outside appearances. She always focused on the positive things about us. She always told me I could do it. I believe this is the greatest gift she has given me. I hope to give C and C the confidence they need to be the best they can be.
She is there for me....all day, everyday...100%...drop everything and step in...no matter what. She is the kind of mom you would want to have, and I hope I never take that for granted. Much to my dismay, she actually loves me and Vance equally and now that I have two kids, I get that. She is his biggest fan too. She has her April Cover bag and t-shirt and drives all night to be his groupie on the road. She prayed for my husband to be since I was 12. And for that, I am forever grateful. God answered her prayer in my sweet amazing hubby. She wouldn't let me go to the skating rink and made me have a curfew...she was the meanest mom ever. And I can't wait to be just like her. She had hope that I would be a mom when I had given up hope; she let me borrow some of her hope. She gave me two of the same baby ornaments the Christmas before Christian and Callie came...she said I would need two...of course I did. Moms always seem to know best. She is totally a MAC and loves her computer. I guess my brother can claim that one. She has a really nice camera, but always shuts her eyes in pictures. She has great skin and married a music man. She is totally fine with it being about everyone else. She gives the best presents and taught me, presentation is everything. She wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up. She loves her family more than anything in the world...and I love her that much too.
Mom, thank you for always believing in me and being my biggest fan. When I grow up, I want to be just like you.