All the Plotmonkeys are Moms. We know how hard and yet rewarding a job it is. So we thought we’d do a tribute to our moms …
CARLY – 
My mom is my best friend. She raised me to be the strong, capable, loving woman I am. My mom is my shopping buddy. We have diametrically opposite taste and yet we respect what the other likes, can give our opinions, and still be friends at the end of the day. We can get angry or upset with each other without fear that we’ll lose our relationship – that is why we have the special friendship that we do. And by example, she taught me how to be a good wife, a good mother, a good friend, and even a good daughter in law! I’m lucky to have her in my life. For all you’ve done, for all you do, I LOVE YOU, MOM!
JANELLE – I chose this picture of my mother and I because it shows you who my mother really is: a wild, crazy, fun-loving person. This picture was taken at her grandson’s college football game, and as you can see by the war paint on her face, she is also one very supportive mother/grandmother. She’s the life of the party (which does sometime clash with my more quiet nature 8O), but she has a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. Right now she’s working on a cruise ship sailing the Hawaiian Islands (tough job, huh?), and I won’t be seeing her this year for Mother’s Day. But she’ll definitely be in my thoughts. I :heart1: you, Mom!!!
JULIE – Bummer, but I don’t have a picture of me and my mother handy! I’m going to fix that today. But here is a recent picture of my mother. Isn’t she pretty? I did not inherit her beautiful blue eyes (none of us did!) but I did get her go-getter personality. My mother has always worked (she still does!) in our family business and showed me that women not only COULD be in charge, but she SHOULD. (Shhh, don’t tell my dad and oldest brother…they think THEY’RE in charge. As if.) For the longest time, she had a license plate on her car that read, “Boss Lady.” And when you put this on an Italian woman’s car, you know she means business. She’s also very kind and loving, of course. I’m her only daughter and we’ve always had a very special bond. Because we’re both strong personalities, we disagree a lot, and sometimes do it very loudly. But it’s never with any malice and it’s never personal. We enjoy sparring. We also enjoy laughing and cooking and chatting on the phone. She has always been there for me and even though I’m in my forties, I can’t imagine not asking her advice on everything important in my life. She’s my rock. I love you, Mom!
LESLIE
I lost my Mom at far too young an age. Lost sounds like such a weak word–she wasn’t lost, she was taken in a senseless accident that I still find difficult to comprehend. And it breaks my heart that my children never knew her…and that she never saw how happy I’ve been with the life I’ve chosen.
Her name was Betty, and she was the most important person in my world growing up. Her strength, resilience, kindness and that streak of wicked, irreverent humor are all gifts I am very thankful to have received from her. And from her death, I also learned one of the greatest lessons which guides my every interaction with those I love: Take nothing for granted. Don’t count on there being a tomorrow–or even a later today–because you never know which moment you share with someone you love will be the last moment. I shared a laughing conversation with my energetic, healthy young mother on the phone one Monday night and less than twelve hours later got a call that she was gone forever.
I tell you this not to be morose, though Mother’s Day is always very emotional and poignant for me. But I truly think it’s an important message to pass along: Treat the ones you love as if you might not ever see them again. Tender words shouldn’t remain unsaid. Love should never be withheld. And laughter is never a waste of time. The last words I ever said to most wonderful woman I’ve ever known were “I love you” and those were also the last words she ever said to me.
What an absolute blessing.
The above picture was taken on my wedding day, only two years before she died. She was beautiful and happy and vibrant. And when I close my eyes, this is how I see her.
I love you Mom. Happy Mother’s Day.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE!
And now on to our regularly scheduled post:
The winner of Carly’s Jungle Madness is:
# 123, Leslie Thompson
PS: Leslie still hasn’t heard from TAMMY (message # 27 from LAST Friday, May 2) who won her Disney madness contest. Write asap to: author@lesliekelly.com or she’ll choose another winner.
And again for Mother’s day, the joke:
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN
1. NAMES
If Rebecca, Linda, Anna and Jeanne go out for lunch, they will call each other Rebecca, Linda, Anna and Jeanne.
If Mark, Harold, Dave and Rob go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla, Peanut-Head and Scrappy.
2. EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mark, Harold, Dave and Rob will each throw in a $20, even though it’s only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
When the women get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.
3. MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t need, but it’s on sale.
4. BATHROOMS
A man has five items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel from the Marriott.
The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify most of these items.
5. ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that… is the beginning of a new argument.
6. CATS
Women love cats.
Men say they love cats, but when women aren’t looking, men kick cats.
7. FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
8. SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
9. MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change , and she does.
10. DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage,answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.
11. NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.
12. OFFSPRING
Ah,children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.
Carly Phillips would like to take 100% credit for all her stories but the truth is, Carly’s strength is writing family, emotion, funky elderly people and animals. She couldn’t plot her way out of a paper bag, which is why she smartly found her plotmonkey pals early on in her writing career. Thanks to their support, Carly is now a NYT Bestselling author of 23 plus novels. Because writing doesn’t keep her busy enough, Carly is also a wife, a mother of one preteen and one teenage daughter, the primary care giver of her soft coated Wheaten terrier and an expert carpool mom.
Destiny
Dirty Little Secrets
Once Upon A Valentine
Through The Night
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I loved your stories about your moms, monkeys.
I had heard your funny man/woman comparison before and it always brings a chuckle. Happy Mother’s Day to everyone.
I am getting ready for a breakfast – my mom, aunt and daughter (Karen) and her husband, Jack are coming; then heading out to Karen’s sister in law’s later on for a barbeque.
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Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! My daughter and I are in DC and heading for Arlington and then back to NY- but I can think of worse things to do on Mom’s Day. I will be calling my mom shortly just like every sunday morning.
Julie- Stacy is here in DC with a small group of Bellas and is heading home later this morning. She said to tell you she will drop you a line when she gets home from the contest.
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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY EVERYONE!
Love the Sunday funnies :-))
Cher
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Happy Mother’s Day to the Monkeys and all the jungle bunnies who are moms too!!
I loved the pictues and stories of your moms – I especially liked the honesty you used in telling the stories! Rather than just saying, “My mom’s the best” it was nice to hear that your personalities are different, and that you sometimes argue (even loudly) but that you still love each other.
And Leslie, I’m so sorry you lost your mom so early but I’m also glad that you can take something positive from it. I learned this past summer how quickly life can change and I now try to have the same attitude you have. I don’t get angry with hubby over silly things…in fact, I don’t think I’ve been angry with him at all since we found out about his tumor. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to carry that same attitude over to my kids when they’re on my last nerve (or my in-laws…I won’t even go there) but I’m working on it!
Have a super-fantastic day everyone!!!
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HAPPY MOTHERS DAY EVERYONE
Congrats to Leslie
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Happy Mother’s Day to all!! Enjoy your day!
Congrats to Leslie!
Love the funnies!
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Happy Mother’s Day! Thanks for sharing those wonderful thoughts about your moms. Leslie, you brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for the reminder that each day is precious. This is the first Mother’s Day I won’t be seeing my mom (she and my dad are on a trip and are flying home late tonight), but I’m going to call her – right now – and tell her I love her.
Have a wonderful day everyone, and thanks PlotMonkeys for being a part of our daily lives. You guys are terrific! :heart1:
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Yey, Leslie….I love the tributes to you Mom. I did one on philiosophy.com about how awesome my mom is….she is such a supporter of my family, especially my oldest (with autism). She doesn’t give up hope for him and believes that he can do great things….plus, she listens to me when things are tough…
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Hi Carly, Its me Tammy last weeks winner I did email her last Monday maybe it went to her junk mail or spam? I emailed her again today so maybe you can pass my email on to her italiangirl5599@hotmail.com just in case she isnt getting it!!! Happy Mothers Day plotmonkeys!!!!
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Congrats Leslie!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, grandmothers, honorary moms, and moms to be. My mom passed away when I was 12. She gave me my love of books and sports. My mom taught me how to read when I was 4 and we watched baseball and football togehter as much as possible. She also gave me my two best friends in the world, my older sister and younger brother.
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Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Plotmonkeys and their Moms! :flower4you:
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Congrats to Leslie. Happy Mother’s Day.
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Carly, today’s post was a wonderful tribute to all the mothers and grandmothers out there…it was very touching…I am not a mom, but I appreciate the sentiment anyway…
Janelle, I wish I could work on a cruise ship like your mom…I am sure it is one of the “toughest” jobs in the world…
I hope that everyone is having a wonderful and restful Sunday, especially the moms out there…make the dads and the kids do all the work…today you are the Queen…some of you probably are everyday, but TODAY is definitely your day…
Congrats to Leslie…
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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Happy Mothers Day to all the lovely mothers out there!
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Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!
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My best wishes for a Happy Mother’s Day to all!!
Pat Cochran
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Congrats, Leslie! Thanks for the funny, Carly! And a wonderful Mother’s Day to all the fab moms out there! Woohoo!
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Happy Mother’s Day Everyone! I hpe you all had a great and very enjoyable Mother’s Day.
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Janelle- I would love to hear sometime about your mom and how she ended up on a cruise ship and what she is doing! That just sounds so neat. I know the people I have met who work on board were all wonderful and so interesting to talk to. I bet she has stories to tell!!
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Ev – My mother has been “cruising” for about 20 years now. It started as vacations, but the more she cruised, the more she loved it. She has such a great personality and loves to be around people. She teaches the arts and crafts class while they are at sea, and when they port, she gets to do her own things. She loves it. After spending 4 weeks doing the Hawaiian cruise, she’s heading up to Alaska to work a 2 week cruise. Lucky her!
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What lovely touching stories :) Thanks for sharing!
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
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Leslie,
What a wonderful tribute to mom! She was so happy the day of your wedding. You were her baby girl and she absolutely adored you! We were so fortunate to have her as long as we did. She would be so very, very proud of you and your success in so many of your roles; author, friend, sister, daughter, wife, and the mother you’ve become!
I love you, kk
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wtg leslie
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You guys have to go to U-Tube & look for both Momsense & dadsense — but watch the Mom one first…. you will HOWL!