Happy Mother's Day, Judy!

I feel sorry for just about everyone in the world because they don't get to have Judy as a mother-in-law.

Here are my favorite things about Judy:

1. Judy raised Nate (and didn't kill him). I'm glad about this for 2 reasons: it means I got to marry Nate and I have a veteran who I can go to for advice as Asher starts exhibiting more Nate traits.

2. Judy is a worker. Both of my in-laws see a task to be done, and do it--even if it's uncomfortable, boring, or completely foreign. She gets the job done.

3. Judy loves to learn. If she's interested in something, she'll learn all about it and excel at it. Examples: gardening (which I reap the rewards of quite frequently), poetry, organ, Native American flutes, religious subject matter.

4. Judy loves to spend time with her grandkids. Judy is so happy when she has all of her grandkids around. In the weeks before the out-of-towners come, she makes all sorts of great plans.

5. Even though I'm not the mom Judy is (I like this analogy: Judy is Waldorf environment while I'm more of a inner-city public school), I never get even a hint of judgement. I realized when I moved to Phoenix that she wasn't going to see the Emily she had known for a while (it's easy to not yell at your husband, keep the house clean, and look put together when you only see someone for a total of 2 weeks every year). She doesn't care that I'm not perfect. Well, she probably already knew that before I moved here.

6. Judy is my friend. I can talk to her about my issues with the Church, my husband, my kids. She always listens.