My Mom is sassy, feisty and smart as all get out.  She will drive you nuts if you can’t keep up. She is truly something else, like for real, otherworldly.  She has had so many careers, all of which are pretty fascinating. They range from being an Oceanographer to being the first black female White House Fellow.   From being a Plant Manager with General Motors to being a Senate Confirmed Presidential Appointee as an Administrator with the Agency of International Development in the State Department.  She also started two companies, has a patent, sold theater tickets and septic tank cleaner.

When she first moved to Washington, DC, after graduating from Chestnut Hill College, she tried out to be a Washington Redskins Cheerleader.  She worked for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries at the Washington, DC Navy Yard and studied shark’s feeding habits as a Graduate Student at Stanford University.  Hmm…adult ADD maybe?  She truly believes and acts upon “Just Do It”.

She has the attention span of a gnat and can speak 3 languages, one being Arabic.  She has a potty mouth and is a voracious reader.  She will read ANYTHING!!  Of course, books and newspapers, but she will also read signs on walls, stickers on car windows, food labels, small print on anything and she will try to read your mind. She is a Philly girl and will let you know it.  She. Is. Not. Afraid. Of. A. Thing.  She will quote Bernie Mac in a heartbeat, “I ain’t afraid of you Mutha$%&#$%^!!!”

I am pointing this all out, because if you were to meet her today, she probably wouldn’t mention a thing. She will smile that beautiful smile and her eyes will twinkle.  Her passion now is her theater company, The Double Nickels Theatre Company.  My Mom is now an actress.  She writes, directs and performs.  Having her as my Mom is fascinating.  We butt heads, but one thing I know is that she has my back and has a whole other personality that comes out if you mess with me.  I never know what will come out of her mouth and what she will inspire me to do next.  She has never told me to NOT pursue something…and I have had some doozey’s.   I wouldn’t trade her for the world.