Non-Typical Mormon Mom

I have been thinking a lot about my mom and the fact that she is a TBM (true believing Mormon), but that she is also so different from the stereotypical Mormon Mom.

1. She never makes casseroles. She cooks, bakes, and once in a while makes Jell-O, but casseroles are/were never on the menu.
2. She definitely doesn't live for her family. She always had her activities, hobbies, and even a few vacations that did not involve the rest of us. She was the kind of mom that pushed independence so she could have a life.
3. She claims that she was the first woman in Spanish Fork, Utah to demand that the phone company put her name in the phone book with my father's. They were only listing men (or unattached women) at the time.
4. She took a karate class in the late 70s without any women in the class. Karate wasn't a "female" activity at that time. One guy resented having a woman in the class so much that he kicked her in the ribs hard enough to break a few. She continued to go to class.
5. In the 80s, she signed up for massage therapy school in Gainesville (we were living in Melbourne, Florida). She got her certificate and started working at a huge exclusive fitness club. She had no problem massaging men, which would probably make a lot of Mormon women uncomfortable.
6. When we moved back to Happy Valley, Utah, she got a call that Hall and Oats were in town for a concert and Oats wanted a massage. She gave him a massage and not only got paid, but got free tickets (she took me).
7. She never really enjoyed being friends with other Mormon women. For the most part, she found them boring. Most of her close friends over the years have been non-Mormons.
8. When we lived in Texas, she decided that she wanted to be a drug abuse counselor. She took classes and then got a job in a bad area of town. Most of her patients were right out of prison. She also did AIDS counseling.
9. She definitely wore the pants in the family even though my dad just wanted a happy little subservient housewife.
10. She has never been interested in what other people think of her or even at gossiping, which is what Relief Society is often about. **I find gossip amusing and tried many times to get her to spill some, but she always refuses.