The entries are in, and it’s time to start voting. It is up to you to decide who you think is the Coolest Mama.  These are the brave souls who sent us pictures of their mothers. Leave a comment with your vote. You have until Wednesday at 7 PM Eastern Time. The winner will be announced on Thursday.

#1

Vanilla of String to Short to Tie sent this picture of his mother. 

He wrote, “The accompanying picture is taken from Mama’s Bible College Yearbook, 1931.  Eighteen months after the conclusion of this school year, Mama and Daddy were married.  Though ultimately Mama was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel, her career path led her to serve as helpmeet to her pastor-husband.  Thus she was the Queen of the Parsonage, calming the storms that buffet a pastor as he confronts the issues in the church and deals with the laity in the vicissitudes of their lives, marrying, counselling, burying, consoling.  And Mama took time to nurture her three children to adulthood.  Pretty cool, my Mama!”
 

#2

Jo, the Poetic Shutterbug, sent this pic of her Mom.

Jo wrote, “What a cool contest Chuck 🙂  Here is a pic of my Mom when she was in her 20’s.  My Mom was always cool, laid back and everyone loved her.  She loved music and contests.  Her favorite radio station was KYA and she used to enter contests with them all the time.  I remember one time she won the top 40 records and as a result received 40 – 45’s.  I can’t remember the year but since they were 45’s it was a while ago.  She won so many times that the station finally told her she couldn’t enter anymore 🙂 She was not only a Mom but a best friend who made everyone laugh.  I still miss her so much and it’s been over 15 years.  If not for my Mom, I would not be a writer and doing what I do.”

#3

Ida of Losing Myself sent in the glamor shot.

Ida is not one to waste words when a picture will suffice. She says, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Ida writes, “Isn’t she beautiful!  I’ve always called this her ‘movie-star’ picture.”

What do you think?

#4

PJ of PJ’s Prose likes this picture of her cool mama. What’s not to like?

PJ wrote, “I don’t have a cool story to go along with this photo. Obviously she liked lollipops, hehehe. This photo has to be almost 50 years old though and I think she is at a laundromat.”

Is she saying, “I can lick anyone in this place?” Just asking . . .

#5

Patricia of Subjective Soup and Communication Exchange sends the next photo of a cool mama.

Patricia writes, “I know my 89-year-old mother is super cool; that’s why I frequently write about her and her adventures at her assisted living home on my blog Subjective Soup.  But, if you want a story that really defines her and that everyone in the family think of whenever we think of Mom, here it is.

At Christmas, our family typically draw names from a hat and each person buys a gift for just the person whose name we’ve drawn.  We all always dreaded drawing Mom’s name because her gift requests were generally difficult to fulfill–not expensive–just difficult.  Let me explain.  One year, I drew Mom’s name and her request was for a porcelain cat facing north.  I tried questioning her further to determine what she meant by “facing north” but she merely reiterated that the cat had to “face in a northerly direction.”  What could she mean?  It seemed that a china cat could be made to “face” in any direction its owner desired, but Mom was adamant that there was a specific cat with a specific look that she wanted–a look of “facing north.”  I will never forget the amount of time I spent searching through antique stores, craft stores, gift shops, and anywhere I could think of to try to locate the perfect porcelain cat that appeared to be tipping its head towards the North Pole.  Finally, I gave up looking for a pre-made object and went to a ceramics shop and ordered a cat figurine made to order.  I described what Mom wanted and, believe it or not, the artist seemed to understand.  When the porcelain cat was finished, it was a beauty–about two feet high, glossy golden fur, soft blue eyes, and its sweet little head tipped just slightly over its right shoulder. 

“North!”  indicated the ceramicist, as he set the cat on the counter and twirled the base around until the cat’s face was pointing in the direction I knew to be just that.  I paid my money and took Kitty with me.

On Christmas Day, the cat was a huge success.  Mom loved it and she pronounced it facing exactly north.  Of course, we all realized that if the cat were set in a different location or turned a few degrees one way or the other, it would quickly be facing east, west, or even south.  No problem.  For Mom, she had her porcelain cat facing north.

Today, many years later, in my Mom’s assisted living apartment, that little cat sits proudly by her front door–facing north.  It’s one of only a few items Mom has kept as she has slowly divested herself of her belongings over the years.  The little cat serves as a reminder to all of us of that wonderful Christmas long ago and why Mom is such a funny and delightful lady.”
 

#6

Dawn of Don’t Know Much About Photography send in this picture.

Dawn wrote, “There were many photos I could have chosen for this contest but I think this one says it best. My mom is on the far left and I am in her lap. There are 5 children in the photo but she had 3 more since it was taken in the early 60’s. Despite many hardships she managed to raise 8 children without losing her sanity. I think that’s pretty cool!”

#7

Lin of Duck and Wheel with String sends in this shot of her children’s mom and her mom.

Lin wrote, “Now if there was a dorky mom category, we are SO taking the prize! Here’s my entry: Phyl (circa 1963). Now, I only want you to judge on my mother’s beauty here and not that adorable baby! Love the matching outfits?? (I’m hoping mom isn’t wearing fancy pants under HER skirt!) How about that ‘do’ and matching red bows? Joe swears my mom still has that plant in her living room too. I’m going for the win here, Chuck!”
 
Lin, we are not going to do a Dorky Mom contest. I want to go on living, and I want to have contest entries. What are you trying to do to me girl?

#8

Sharkbytes of My Quality Day, among other blogs, sent in this interesting photo.

She was actually a city girl, and moving to the farm, including moving in to the home where my dad’s mother was still living, was a challenge. She says that she totally failed at remembering to take items to be kept cool to the basement, and bought a gas refrigerator (probably the same year this picture was taken), much to the disgust of Grandma, who thought mom was just lazy!

#9

Clara of Coming Back to Life submitted this photo of her mother at age 15.

Clara says, “I can see why Dad fell madly in love with Mom. This shot was taken about a year after they met.

Mom never cared much for city living. She grew up in the country. I always thought she was a gal outstanding in her field. (Or is that “out standing?”)

When we were growing up we always had her fresh baked pies around the house. (Dad loved pie.) She was the best at making pie, but she did have lots of practice. On special occasions, like when the church women would meet at our house, Mom would make cinnamon rolls — the best I ever tasted — EVER. Her recipe made a lot of rolls, so they were reserved for special occasions.

Well there you have all nine of our intrepid entrants in the Cool Mama Contest. Leave a comment on this post with your vote for the Coolest Mama. Do it before 7 PM Eastern time on Wednesday.

And good luck picking just one. They all look pretty cool to me. It’s your choice.