My Mom

This is my mom, Ann, but her real name is : Ana Coracao de Jesus Melo Costa--got all that?  I just call her "Mom".  She is a domestic goddess who was always there at home afterschool greeting us in the kitchen with a plate of moonpies or peanut butter sandwiches.  (That can possibly explain my chubbiness as a child.)  My mom is a very proud and strong woman who will not leave her house unless it is vacuumed.  She also never leaves the house unless she is dressed "right"--she always looks like she just stepped out of the pages of a JC Penney catalogue.  (Who can forget that story when my mom and dad were bumped up to first class on TAP Airlines-Transportes Aeros de Portugal---they really could appreciate their matching suits--they looked like Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Reagon!)  She reminds us constantly that NOBODY does it better or knows better than she does when it comes to raising children, keeping house, dressing for church and other social occasions, and cooking.  You know that mom on "Everybody Loves Raymond: - That's MY mom!  Yes, she can be overly dramatic at times, but she's our mom and grandmother and we love her to pieces.  Here is some Mother TRIVIA:

My mom has 3 sisters all named Aida.  Two of her sisters were born and died before her.  When I was born, my mom wanted to name me after her sister, but my dad wouldn't let her--thanks Daddy!

My father fell in love with my mother at first sight when she was only 17 years old.  He was in the military and wrote letters to my mother in English which were translated to her by her cousin's husband.  She didn't take them seriously until my dad came back when she was 20.  She let my father visit and "court her" because she couldn't say "no" to his green eyes.

My father is a distant  cousin to my mom's step-father; and that is how they met.

My mom's father was a very important and well known writer and performer of carnival music on the island she is from.  His first song that he wrote was entitled "Ana" when he was a teenager.  Unfortunately, my grandfather died in his late 30's when my mother was only an infant.

My mother was a singer and performer in her early teenage days and was the star of many plays and "comedias" in her village.  She proves this again every Sunday at church when she hits those high notes.  I remember watching people turn around at church to see who was singing...it was my MOM.

My mother makes the best alcatra and sopa in town.  (Of course if you are Portuguese, you will appreciate this, but at the same time you will say that YOUR MOTHER makes the best alcatra and sopa in town.)

My mother almost died when she was 7 years old of a very high fever.  She stopped breathing, and the doctor had already announced that she was gone.  Story says that my grandmother ran into the garden and pleaded to the Virgin Mary to save her.  My mother wore white dresses with blue sashes in honor of the Virgin and her mother's promise. (If you are Portuguese, you may understand this as well.)

My mom still dances and sings in the kitchen to Perry Como.

My mom raised 4 kids, and watched 5 grandchildren while her daughters worked.

My mom is the best; totally understandable by all.