66 reasons why my Mom is the best! in no particular order

1. She used to take me to the bookstore before our family ventured out for live sports-related events (actually, that applies to Dad too), which we attended all the time.
2. She makes awesome molasses cookies that can not be duplicated by anyone else. I know. I've tried.
3. She loves parties and celebrations with her family...
4. ...But I am not allowed to throw any parties for her or Dad, so really, pressure off.
5. She listens to Christmas music all year round.
6. She is patient.
7. She watches my kids A LOT...
8. ...And acts like I'm doing HER the favor.
9. She used to cut my hair for me and I never looked like she cut my hair for me.
10. She makes me Orange Charlotte...
11. ...And cheesecake.
12. She adapts recipes so I can eat them...
13. ...And acts like it's not the biggest deal in the world.
14. Summer vacations, after lunch, designated hour reading time every day.
15. Summer vacations, every week, designated library visit.
16. When we built our house, she (and Dad) came to help us paint. Four coats. In every room.
17. Growing up, playing doughnut shop. That was fun.
18. I call her United Nations Nancy because she can go into ANY situation and make it fun.
19. She throws Johanna carnivals (well, Dad too, who gets extra props for HIS patience).
20. She goes to all of my girls' events (...Dad too. Where's his list?)
21. She and Johanna created a board game together.
22. She let Abby "arrange" all her holiday decorations "just so" until Abby outgrew that phase.
23. She appreciates coffee.
24. She instilled in me the importance of pro-active health care.
25. She makes great quilts.
26. A Very Minimalist Christmas!
27. When I was a teenager, she'd let me frost the Christmas cookies any ol' way I wanted (purple trees, why not?) and let me call them things like "Ode to Commercialism, Which Doth Suck" and act like that was perfectly normal.
28. She appreciates the little things.
29. She's always encouraged my writing, from the time I wrote my first story at age four to now.
30. Actually, she has a scrapbook of all my newspaper articles. 
31. Inside jokes! (Tempting... but no.)
32. She tells me the truth.
33. When I was learning to can, she held my hand. For like five years.
34. She loves books, too.
35. She taught me to stand up for myself.
36. She was my first regular blog reader. :)
37. She's dependable in a crisis.
38. She treats Eric like one of her kids.
39. She deeply loves my girls.
40. She used to read to us at the dinner table.
41. When I told her I wanted to start wearing make-up in seventh grade, she bought me liquid foundation, Noxzema face wash and a stick of deodorant.
42. She always encouraged creativity.
43. She's my biggest fan.
44. She assured me I was The Swan.
45. She understands the importance of chocolate.
46. When you go to her house, you're 99.5% sure of getting a fresh, homemade cinnamon roll.
47. She loves orchestrating crazy Christmas, pass the package kind of games... 
48. ...Where everyone always walks away with a prize.
49. She loves Harry Potter.
50. She doesn't do fifth gear.
51. She made me try various activities (tennis, modeling, volleyball), but was never overly invested in my success--she just wanted me to try in case I was actually good at it. (Spoiler alert: I wasn't.)
52. She likes lists. (Maybe?)
53. She can be terribly brave.
54. She has a great sense of humor.
55. Actually, she can be so quietly funny that people generally don't understand she's making a joke. This is why she can get away with saying pretty much anything.
56. She doesn't think minimalism is weird, even if she cannot pronounce the word. (Seriously. Can't.)
57. When she is on your team, she is ON YOUR TEAM.
58. She thinks everything I do--even at age 41--is amazing.
59. She finds my children enchanting.
60. Spring and summer, iced coffee, sitting on her patio in the sun, chatting.
61. Getting invited over for dinner and then asked to cook. (Okay, that only happened once, but it was AWESOME.)
62. Even though she doesn't always understand my decisions (i.e. transferring from Lower Columbia College, with lower tuition and practically free rent, to Western Oregon, with its higher tuition and room and board fees), she always supports them.
63. She worked her tail off (Dad too) so I wouldn't have crippling student loans. 
64. She's afraid to use her credit card online, but she's not afraid to use my credit card online.
65. She's fun.
66. She just IS.