Proud of these things: Gifts from my mother

 Many young girls spend a period of their lives in constant friction with their mothers. I am one of those girls--- as a more mature woman, I pray that when I have a daughter we miss those moments, because I miss the reflections of this photograph and the smiles that we shared.

I am the daughter of Regine Neptune and while we have our differences, the woman typing today recognizes the many characteristics that I am PROUD to say I have gained from her. 

One of the memories I have of my mother is her love of cooking. She loved to cook, and not because it was something she had to do, but it was something that she wanted to do. I know that her love of cooking has definitely been passed on to me. I love being in the kitchen, I love playing around with different foods and experimenting here and there. My uncle always talks about my mom's pizzas and how she would make the dough herself and try out different types of pizzas.

 I remember one end of the year party we threw at my house in elementary school, where my mother let my friends and I make our own pizzas. She and I mixed the dough together the night before and then 4 of my friends and I spent the next afternoon putting together our pizzas with different toppings. A great memory and one that I constantly return to when I think about pizza.

Another memory of my mother and the things she loved that got passed down to me is her musical talent. My mom was a great singer. She sang for my church when I was growing up. When we moved to California she sang at that church as well. I don't know if my mom was ever trained to sing, but she loved it. I can remember her singing at different times of the day, humming a tune here and there. 

Now I don't really like to share my singing---one because I don't think I am that good with my singing--well it's nothing to call Berry Gordy or Clive Davis about--HA! But I think I can at least manage a tune.  I sing, because music is something that makes me happy. Music is something that you can find that will make any mood better. There's always a song for every mood and I appreciate that. 

As I continue to work through the differences that my mother and I have, it's nice to reflect on things about our relationship that are great.  I hope one day that I can pass these talents on to my daughter and maybe one day share in the memories with my mother again.

Until then, it's pretty cool to know where my talents came from. Thanks Mom.