There's nothing like a mom

There's nothing like a mom.  There's no one who cares as much about you as she does.  There's no one who knows you as well as she does.  There's no one who makes you want to behave as well and to succeed as much as she does.

My Mom just left back to Portugal after eight wonderful days here in Berkeley with me.  In those eight days, we manage to spend an average of 22 hour per day together.  How's that possible?  First of all, Mamma Marta (as some of my ihouse friends started calling her right away) slept with me in International House's room 636.  That not only means that we slept one meter apart from each other, but also means that we were together even in the useless hours of the day.  Secondly, being a great researcher, Mom got to meet a few professors in my department and even got an office of her own in Davis Hall during this week.  Davis Hall is the building where I have all my classes and where I spend most of my day, studying, doing homework or working for my research.  This week, instead of working in my office or in the computer labs, I worked next to Mom.  Moreover, we used every meal as an excuse to spend time with other people and to explore new places.  We usually had breakfast in ihouse, went out for lunch and had a light meal back in the dining hall.

It was a pleasure to show my mom all the corners of Berkeley and most of the places I describe every day.  It was even a greater pleasure to introduce her to all of my friends, who couldn't stop complimenting her: "So cute", "So cool", "So young", "You look like sisters, not like mom and daughter", etc, etc, etc.  When we went to Castro, the gay neighborhood in San Francisco, one of the waiters in the restaurant where we had lunch even thought we were girlfriends instead of mom and daughter.  Hahaha.

I really love San Francisco and the Bay Area.  If it was not so far away from home, I would probably consider working and living here.  But, being as far, I don't think I could do it.  There's nothing like a Mom next to you to spoil you and support you all the time and there's nothing like home.

Thanks for coming Mom.  Thanks for treating me like a princess this week.  And thanks for being so great that I couldn't wait till I showed you to the world here in Berkeley.

P.S.  Daddy, don't be jealous.  I'm very nostalgic now that Mom had to leave.  There's nothing like a Dad too.  I'm looking very forward to having you visiting me here too.  But if, by any chance, you can bring Mom with you, don't hesitate.  By the way, everyone here thinks that I'm very, very similar to my mom.  You should both come together so that we could clarify this issue.  Hehe.