Appreciation

Today is Mother’s Day in America. This is the day that we show our appreciation of our mothers by, typically, showering them with gifts, flowers and meals out at a restaurant. Later, I will be joining my mother for dessert, which is what she wanted to do. I have to admit that I think my mom is pretty fabulous. In fact, I would have to say that I’m pretty lucky when it comes to my family, my mother in particular.

I think I always knew that my mom was cooler than some mothers when I was a kid. I became a Duranie as a young kid. In fact, I always claim my anniversary as the day that the Reflex became number one because that was the song that had me hooked for life. I was 8, almost 9 at the time. Like many kids, I became addicted and wanted to show this addiction in many ways, including buying their albums and singles, wearing t-shirts and nightshirts, and wallpapering my bedroom with their posters. My mom accepted all of this without question. She never complained when literally all four walls of my bedroom were covered with Simon, John, Nick, Roger and Andy. There were no statements about turning down Seven and the Ragged Tiger. My house became the location of the Friday Night Videos sleepovers. My best friend at the time would call each other up whenever we saw a video being played on MTV and my mom never became annoyed with the frequent calls. My mom accepted all of this. As the years moved along, she began to do more than just accept it.

One thing I always appreciated about my mom was that she asked questions about what I was interested in. She wanted to know and appreciate what I was into. Thus, she not only listened to me go on and on about the guys, the songs, the videos but would ask questions. She acted like she was curious herself! This was so reinforcing to me and made my fandom seem acceptable, normal. As the years went on, my mom started to learn some of the songs and began to recognize who was who. In fact, my dad always asks about who is who when Duran is on their TV, for whatever reason, and my mom is typically the one to provide the information. Now, when I tell my mom about an appearance on TV, she tunes in and will actually tell me what she thinks! Likewise, I played AYNIN is for her. Last weekend, she asked me how the album was doing because she “really likes the new songs”. I got the biggest smile on my face! I answered her question calmly but inside I was beaming. Of course, my mom has gone above and beyond this as she had created various pieces of art to help me to express my fandom, including fabric art pieces to represent songs or the logo to our blog!

In less than 2 weeks, my parents will be driving me and my friend,Deb,to O’Hare for us to board a plane to London. As I tried to make my decision about whether or not to go to the UK, my mom encouraged me to go. She has joined me in my various shopping trips and listened to my excitement over all of the little details. I’m sure that she will be as thrilled to hear my stories and see my pictures when I get back.

I’m sure by now you all get the point. My mom is pretty fabulous, especially when it comes to my fandom. She has accepted and encouraged it. She has supported me all the way and I suspect that she will continue to do so as Rhonda and I continue to write this blog and finish our book. Happy Mother’s Day to my mom!!

-A