A Class Act

I couldn't let Mother's Day go by without a shout out to my own mom.


If there's one thing you can say about my mom, it's that she is a class act.  


There are many things that have not been filtered down to me through her DNA....ironing underwear, making salmon croquettes, or neatly folding plastic bags (I think if they weren't plastic, she'd iron them too.)


But yet her influence is deeply rooted in me in so many ways.


She has instilled her love of reading, Jazzercise, musicals (I still remember my first visit to Heinz Hall to see Gigi), finding a bargain, and picking out a pair of shoes that completes an outfit  so that you can "be as cute as you can be,"  a classic Arlene phrase.


She is a beauty pageant queen winner, a breast cancer survivor, a successful realtor, a ballroom dancer, a champion cleaner and an expert bargain shopper.  


She has always taught me to take the high road through her example. 


I have witnessed her many acts of courage including: 

• Moving from the city she lived in her whole life leaving her family and friends
• Deciding to go to college to pursue her degree while most of the moms in the  neighborhood stayed at home 
• Handling serious health issues, both her own and my father's
• Starting over after divorce 
• Mourning the deaths of my father and her mother and celebrating the birth of her grandsons

Though these events are typical of the many chapters of life, it is my mom's grace and class that sets her apart.   She has always taught me to take the high road, even when that's the hardest course of all.   But as they say, mother knows best, and I'm confident that these lessons of grace, courage and class will be the most indelible (although I'm keen to hang on to her tips for accessorizing too!).

Thank you mom, you are one classy lady.