Ten Things About ... My Mom

I've been tagged by Chicky, Chicky, Baby and Mama Loves for the Ten Things About Me meme. The Divine Mrs. Chicky shook things up a bit by writing ten things about her mother instead and I'm going to copy her in honor of Mother's Day. So, without further delay, I give you ten things about my mom:

1. She loves daisies and hates the smell of magnolias.
2. She was raised in New Orleans and Slidell, Louisiana. She is the oldest of 7 siblings, 5 brothers and 1 sister. Her oldest brother, my Uncle Jim, died 7 years ago from liver cancer. I know she still misses him.
3. She makes the best gumbo in the world. You think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. Now, of course, I make a pretty good gumbo as well. My husband swears it's just as good as my mom's, but I know that it's really not.
4. Her maiden name is the same as my father's last name, except for 1 letter. She has a Y where he has an I. They are actually very distantly related. The misspelling of the last name in 1 branch of the family happened in a census in Louisiana sometime in the 1800's. (T loves to make jokes about how, in Southern tradition, my family tree does not fork. Hilarious, I know.)
5. She loves New Orleans, but could never live there again.
6. She was devastated when Katrina destroyed New Orleans, and again when she visited for Mardi Gras this year.
7. My mom is a fantastic bridge player and has played, and beaten, Warren Buffet. If anyone reading is actually familiar with the rankings of the American Contract Bridge League, she is a silver life master. I'm dying to tell you more about this but I don't want my mom to be outed with a quick Google search without her permission!
   
8. My mom was a math teacher and she taught me about negative numbers when I was in the 1st or 2nd grade. I have to admit it was awfully handy to have my mom at home if I was confused about something in Geometry or Calculus.
9. She's been married to my dad for 36 years and still adores him.
   
10. My mother always pushed me to try harder in school, to try harder at everything I did, to be a better person and to climb a little higher. I resented some of it while I was growing up, but now I know that I would not be who I am if she hadn't been standing behind me pushing.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. I love you.
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I tag Joanne of Pundit Mom, Nancy of Mom, Ma'am, Me, Amy of A Family Story, and Angela of Did You See That and CPA Mom. If you've already done this meme, feel free to ignore me. If not, tell me 10 things about you, your mom, your dog, or your left big toe. Feel free to get creative and you can hate me later!

In other news, I'm happy to report that my cousin C gave birth to her little girl this morning. Happy Mother's Day, C, and many more to come.