Happy Birthday Mom!

It's my mom's birthday.

I have an amazing mother.

My mom was Betty Draper before Betty Draper was.

But she was a brunette.

And for every day stuff she wore her hair more like Peggy's. 

But man could she rock a french twist!

She was that stereotypical 50's stay at home wife.

She had some jobs as a teenager during the war.

One was butchering chickens, she taught me how.

It's a very important life lesson.

Once you can butcher a chicken from stem to stern,

 there isn't much else in a kitchen you won't attempt. 

And she dated a lot of Bills. 

I dated a lot of Mikes.

 Another life lesson, if you date guys with the same name 

you never have to worry about having your 

Dad (in her case) or your 2 year old (in my case) 

call a guy by the wrong name. 

My parents got divorced when I was in 5th grade.

So, my mom who hadn't worked a day in her life to support

herself, figured out how to get out of a rotten marriage,

 dissolve a bankrupt business,

 dispose of a house she could no longer afford,

 and cloth, feed and shelter 4 children. 

She didn't do it on her own, she had an 

amazing mother (and sister) herself.

It wasn't always pretty but it worked. 

And the life lessons I learned in that 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house 

on Oakton Street have served me well all these years. 

Thanks, mom.