When I was writing my last post, I could literally hear mom saying “Enough! Enough mushy stuff!” Mom was not one to wallow in her sorrow. She called me sometimes when she felt overwhelmed or frustrated with her illness, and she would have a good cry. I did not love that my mom had to endure the pain that she did, but I did love that she felt like she could call me. I loved being able to support her during her toughest times. She never let herself stay in that sad space for long, though. She would take a deep breath, and say “Ok. Enough. Tell me about your day.” I’m not saying I can say “enough” with my grieving process, but I do want to take a little pause and remember some fun things about mom. This is just a quirky list that I don’t want to forget.

Mom had a huge crush on Josh Groban. She was totally smitten with him. I think at one point, she even had a poster of him in her classroom when she was teaching elementary school music. She saw him in concert once with her friends. I changed Mom’s world when I showed her how to stream music from her iPhone. She could hear Josh whenever she wanted. She particularly liked to stream music from her phone when she was going to sleep or waking up- so she would say “I’m in bed with Josh.”

Mom had a strict dessert regimen. She had many different dietary needs during her illness, and really became a pro at mastering them. I often told her she should teach classes on managing nutrition during chemotherapy. She never lost her appetite for dessert throughout most of her treatments; she ate it precisely at 9:00 every night. Even when Mom was unable to eat more than cereal and yogurt throughout the day, she somehow found “room” for dessert. One way I knew Mom was not well toward the end of her life was that the sweet stashes started disappearing around the house.

Mom was a devoted soap opera follower while her favorites were still on. She watched religiously during the summers and during her retirement. Growing up, I knew not to bother her during the hours of 1-3 PM. My family went to the beach often, and let me tell you — we drug some stuff out to sit on the beach. We all knew not to get too comfortable, though, because Mom would say “ready to go!” around 12:45. (This was before DVR).

Mom loved Disney movies. Long after Rob and I left the nest, Mom and Dad could be found catching the last Disney flick. Dad loves them too— but he will really go see any movie. My parents took us to Disney world every five years when we were growing up. I made a scrapbook for Mom of all our trips. I’m glad I got that done.

Mom was a master at fast-forwarding Jeopardy on the DVR. Jeopardy was a staple in Mom and Dad’s house, and she always held charge of the remote when they watched it. She did not have the patience to hear the awkward talking parts, so she mastered fast forwarding through those and quickly skipping commercials. No one else could really fast-forward Jeopardy to her liking. FYI- she also fast fowarded through all the screaming on the Price is Right. I guess the theme is that Mom loved game shows, but she did not want all the extra crap.

Mom loved sweet tea. She cut back to half and half to better manage her diabetes, but at a certain point in her illness that went by the wayside. It was sweet tea or nothing. This is not particularly unique, except that Mom often got tea while she was out to eat and brought a to go cup home. Sometimes there were upwards of 5 cups in the fridge. Rob and I dubbed her the “cup hoarder.”

Mom became a huge fan of pedicures. She never liked people touching her feet, but her feet became really dry during one round of chemo. She braved the unknown and got a pedicure. To her surprise, she loved it. I loved it too, because pedicures became one of our go-to activities. Mom wasn’t one to overindulge in much of anything, but I could count on a yes if I asked about us getting pedicures.

I love remembering these quirky and fun facts about my mom. If any of you have any that you remember, I would love to hear them.