The 'Mama Seal of Approval': Honoring the Worthy

In honor of the upcoming Mother's Day, I've been thinkin' a lot about my own mama and I need your help! So I've blogged a bit about Daddy Seal and our F/D dance. It seems very strange to me, however, that (other than her expressed disapproval of our cigar bar) I've yet to truly introduce you to Mama Seal—and given how very much she means to Mr. Seal and me, this is just totally unacceptable. Though at first it may appear otherwise, I swear this post has everything to do with our wedding. Plus I really do need some advice.

Some relevant history first.

 Mama Seal, pregnant with Baby Seal (me)

Mama Seal is my best friend. Oh, and not the kind of "best friend mom" that forgets she is first and foremost my mother; she has always been amazingly nurturing and disciplinary exactly when she needs to be. As such an important person in my life, however, she basically influences every single one of my decisions. I'm not exaggerating. Despite being 25-years-old, I still call Mama Seal when I'm sick to make me feel better. Oh, and any purchases over $50 (of my own money, mind you) rarely transact without a quick call for approval from Mama Seal. I know, I know—you all will call this codependency, but I lovingly refer to it as the "Mama Seal of Approval" (actually I just came up with that, but I'm gonna own it and suggest we run with it).

 Me and Mama Seal enjoying dinner at Disneyland

So after Mama S approved of Mr. Seal and we started planning this whole big wedding, it was quite evident that my mom was going to be just as important in the wedding planning process as my color palette. Now I fear I am making her sound controlling but that is very far from the truth; having her bless my decisions, so to speak, is a stipulation of my own. So when I say, for example, that Mama Seal gave us her approval for the reception venue before we signed a contract, this was only after several annoying rounds of, "MAAAMAA, TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" My mom has consistently insisted that she has enough faith in me to blindly trust my decisions, but I like need to hear her confirmations aloud first. Because I'm silly.

Maybe our resident psychologist Ms. Ferris Wheel has a fancy name for my "need for approval" but I swear that, whatever it is, my reliance upon Mama S comes from a loving place. Am I eager to please Mama Seal? Absolutely. Is this because I want to make her proud? You betcha. Does she ever make me feel like a disappointment? Never.

Anyhow, as it should happen, the same week that I received my bee acceptance e-mail, Mama Seal was in the hospital recovering from an emergency surgery. To make a long and emotional story short: she went in for a routine surgery, the surgeons made a mistake, she was sent home only to get worse, I forced her back to the ER and 12 hours after being re-admitted she was back on the surgical table feeling very weak and very ill. Her surgery was a success, but due to the critical and intensive nature of her procedure she was kept in the hospital for over a week for observation and we were told by the doctor that we could only take things "day by day".

Thankfully she has steadily improved and, though still in the recovery process, is doing so much better. She's back to being the incredibly vibrant, amazing, and best lookin' 61-year-old I know. I surely didn't need a frightening experience to prove how dear my mother is to me but if there is one thing this whole ordeal has taught me, it is that I need to express my gratitude more often.

With that being said, we can get back to my initial reason for posting: I need your advice. Fathers and daughters share a special dance at the reception and I've flirted with the idea of adding a Mother/Daughter dance to ours, but I just don't know. What does one do on the big day to publicly pay homage to an incredibly influential, amazingly selfless, hero of a mom? Any suggestions? Are you doing anything for/with your mom on your wedding day?