She’s a great mom.  The first thing that stands out about her to anybody is her sewing ability.  She is absolutely the best ever.  It’s nice to know that clothes never have to fit me perfectly, because she can always make them fit.  She works at a tailor shop in Burnsville, but has her own setup in the basement of my parents’ home, where she does a lot of work for family, friends and acquaintances.  She’s even done work for famous people, like Elizabeth Ries.

 

The second thing that stands out about her is her loyalty to her shows.  She loves Regis.  She loves Monk.  She loves Desperate Housewives.  She loves Dancing with the Stars.  And she never misses 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Morning, or Good Morning America.  Never has.  Sure, she was happy that I became host of Twin Cities Live, but she has always been as loyal a viewer as our station has ever had.  And it extends to radio stations in our building, too.  Never for so much as a commercial break has she ever listened to a station other than KS95 in my entire life!  And Dez, the voice of Twin Cities Live, is her absolute favorite.

 

My job is great for many reasons.  But the most rewarding and everlasting thing about hosting Twin Cities Live, is that I’ve been able to get my mom to meet Regis Philbin, Kristi Yamaguchi, Ricardo Antonio Chavira from Desperate Housewives, and of course, Dez.  I’m happy to do any events or do anything that allows my parents to get an experience they otherwise may not get the opportunity to have.

 

And of course, what stands out is what a great mom she’s been to me.  She did a lot of things many mothers do…laundry, cleaning, cooking.  And as most of us don’t, I never appreciated it as much as a kid, as I do now.  I remember about 10 years ago, scrubbing my kitchen floor, and I thought of all the times that my mom had done the same thing, only to have me trample in the house.  I called her to apologize for all of those times.

 

But she was also very supportive of the things I wanted to do, and the people I wanted to hang around.  Now let’s be honest, I think I was a pretty easy kid, who never got into much trouble, but when interest in school waned, and grades weren’t at the same level they had once been, dad wasn’t too happy with it.  But mom was a little more understanding.  Not knocking dad here.  He was great, too.  But he was more of the disciplinarian.

 

Chicki came to a number of my baseball games, but not a whole lot of them, because she got too nervous.  We have many video at home of me pitching, and her yelling “C’mon Johnny!” in the background.  I always heard, because she was pretty loud.

 

She loves her kids.  But don’t joke around about her loving my brother more.  I learned that one day, when I said something to that effect to my dad.  He passed it on to her, and she called me while I was living in Las Vegas, crying.  I felt so bad.  It was an off-handed comment that I forgot about the second I made it.  But she took it seriously.  Mom, that was a joke.  After all, why on Earth would you Jeff more than me?  I mean, look at this face!

 

I hope you all think all think you have a mom that’s as great a