When she turns 65

How many girls get to say their mother was both a parent and a best friend? It's a hard line to walk. Too soft and your kids don't respect you, too hard and they stay emotionally distant. She found that balance, and with six kids to look after no less.

I remember summers of lazily being a kid, the excitement of a pending family vacation, or the way the house looked just before we went to the cabin. We didn't have to grow up early, we didn't have to suffer hardships. For that I think I'm the most grateful in my childhood. We weren't exactly rich, but we had everything that mattered.

So exactly what kind of mother is she? As a teenager, she already knew before you confessed just what kind of trouble you'd gotten into. And she'd already told the other neighborhood moms, but only if it was a dangerous path. If you were just being a silly minded adolescent, she was quick to forgive and forget.

As adulthood dawned on me, she became my font of knowledge. When heartbreak found me, she was there to help pick up the pieces. I still remember her crying as hard as I did the day my heart suffered it's first break at the hands of a boy. It's still there nearly 15 years later as I settle into marriage.

She lead by example where she needed to, and kept a close eye if it was necessary. She let us grow where we needed without running into dangerous habits.

She taught me that it's totally ok to cry at sappy reality tv moments, like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I still do.

And nothing will ever move me like a good song on a car stereo, when you just belt out the words with both hands on the wheel and no cares in the world.

If I manage to become even half the amazing woman she is, I will count myself successful in everything I do.

I love you mom, happy birthday!