Ginny Kubitz Moyer, a fine writer and blogger over at Random Acts of Momness, asked me to write about “The best gift my mom gave to me” for her outfit today. Mom has been one of my inspirations in life (Dad too!) and I appreciate her sharing my thoughts with a different audience today.

A snip:

It’s 1975 and I’m a kindergarten student. I had a crush on Heather Wilson, the girl next–door, and enjoyed spending my day at school because she was there. I always told mom about her the second I got home from school and she just smiled and would always ask if anything other than Heather had caught my interest.

It was those times after-school that was just ours, Mom and I. My Dad and older sister were still at work and that gave us time to be together. We’d watch an afternoon baseball game or Casper the Friendly Ghost on TV. She taught me euchere, a card game that I eventually got good enough to beat her at.

And then, it started to happen. Mom got sick, they told me. I wasn’t sure what was wrong, but I knew it didn’t seem good. Mom was in and out of hospitals so often that people would always remark “AGAIN?” when I’d tell them she was in the hospital.

Read on by clicking here and say a prayer for my mom and dad, if you will, as Hurricane Irene hits their close to the Hudson River home in Yonkers today.