A tribute Mom (and to the plaid sofas of days gone by)

About 42 years ago the cute couple sitting on this really ugly brown couch decided to tie the knot. Along the way they raised 2 daughters and were the (not so) proud owners of several ugly plaid sofas.




They didn't have a lot of money, but that never seemed to matter. They were creative and always found a way to provide their kids with the things that were most important (even if those kids did not always realize that at the time). In short, they were great parents -and still are.





Since Mother's Day is this weekend, I just thought I'd take the time to say thank you to my Mom for all she did for us over the years. Through all of the ups and downs, she was always there for both my sister and I. She was a terrific Mom - and still is.




I think I mentioned that money was really tight when we were young. And, as those of us with one household income know, lack of money is quite an obstacle when it comes to decorating the house. There is always something more important to spend money on. So, as you can imagine, the early part of Mom's life was filled with hand-me down furniture, including several couches covered in disturbingly ugly plaid patterns. Let's get out of the cold and go on inside to see what my poor Mom had to put up with over the years, shall we?

Oh, there it is! If memory serves, this couch was particularly uncomfortable, but Mom is making the best of it. And look, I think she may have invented the very first Snuggie! She's always been ahead of her time. Sadly, she did not patent the idea, so she will not be getting any large checks in the mail. Better luck next time Mom!

Let's jump forward a few years (and an additional daughter) to view the next plaid couch to grace her life. The couch is bad, but I just can't take my eyes off that eagle lamp in the corner. Wow! I know without a doubt the lamp came to us by way of my maternal grandma. Grandma always had a thing for bronze eagles in her decorating schemes. (We'll save the discussion on Dad's hair and sideburns until Father's Day, OK?)

Thankfully, Mom always had better taste, she just didn't have the funds available to use it to pick out furniture. When the money finally became more plentiful, I am happy to say that she was finally able to rid her life of plaid sofas forever. I am hoping for her sake that they don't ever come into fashion again.

Look how happy she is now that she got rid of all the plaid! That's a big smile considering that at the time she had 2 girls standing on either side of her in the throws of adolescence. Clearly we did not do our duty as teenagers to make her properly miserable. What did we do wrong (I mean besides preventing her from wearing a sweater with a collar as large as Rhode Island)?

These days, I consider my Mom to be one of my best friends. I really enjoy spending time with her - she always makes me laugh. She's also a terrific Grandma & I love to watch her interact with my own two hooligans. I think it was love at first sight for all 3 of them.



Look - there is not a plaid piece of furniture in sight - go Mom!

In closing, I'd just like to say that I've been so blessed to have you as my Mother. You are a great Mom, friend and role model. Thanks for everything you've done and continue to do for your family - we love you so much! Happy Mother's Day!