Mother's Day Power Rankings

In honor of Mother’s Day, I will now release my first annual Mother’s Day Power Rankings. This list will be comprised of the most influential women in my life. A lot of thought went into this and a lot of feelings will probably be hurt but I enjoy sports and in sports we rank. Here it goes:

1.    Maureen Jones
No surprise here. My life’s top seed (there’s a joke in there somewhere) gets the number one spot. If it weren’t for her I wouldn’t be here and after going through the pain of raising me and still loving me, she is the obvious champion.
Last Year’s Rank: 1

2.    Katy Beth Sherman
The first semi-surprise this year, Sherman (for now) passes grandmother Pamela Rhoads for the number two spot. As my fiancé, she has the luxury of choosing to love me and still does. I haven’t matured much so she too has to put up with my childish behavior like my Mom, and she does so well. She is the one contender to the top spot.
Last Year’s Rank: 3 (it was a good number)

3.    Pamela Rhoads
Rhoads falls one spot this year due a proposal out of her control. She’s been my grandmother for going on 24 years now and I have yet to hear her ever say a bad thing about anyone. Her ceiling isn’t as high as some of the others but her floor isn’t as low. She is the only person on this list I don’t think I have ever been upset with. Always a safe pick.
Last Year’s Rank: 2


4.    Nanny Sherman
The first surprise of the year is Katy Beth’s grandmother. Nanny was always a big fan of mine and even told the top ranked Sherman that she loved me and knew I was the one. How can you not rate a woman with that type of confidence and accuracy in the top 5? And to make her case even stronger, she’s sensitive like me.
Last Year’s Rank: 4


5.    Diane Sherman
Diane is a tough one to peg here. As my future mother-in-law she is bossy enough to convince me to move her up or even down but in the end this felt like the right spot. Loving and caring she has probably talked KB out of killing me more than a few times. She also has one of the best laughs in the world and belongs in the top 5.
Last Year’s Rank: 5

6.    Miss Amanda Graff
Amanda Graff is the lone new entry to the top 10. My future cousin, Amanda kept the secret of my proposal for weeks leading up the actual event. If I have a secret or need someone to talk to, it will probably be Amanda.
Last Year’s Rank: NR

7.    Morgan Jones
My Aunt who is only 9 years older than me but we finished college at the same time. Albeit I graduated with an undergrad degree and she got her doctorate but an undergrad from Houston and a doctorate from Georgia are pretty much similar… As an avid Indiana Jones fan, I am just glad someone in the family will be Doctor Jones. She also gave me one of my favorite nicknames: Hashbrown. Not sure how or why but you don’t mean many other Hashbrowns.
Last Year’s Rank: 6

8.    Jordan Bell
My best friend’s younger sister, Jordan has been like a little sister to me. She is one of the funniest people I know and has consistently turned down my date offers so you know she’s really smart.
Last Years Rank: 8

9.    Michaelle Brooks
My Mom’s best friend growing up, married my Dad’s best friend growing up and has been a second Mom to me from the beginning. She took an obvious interest in me when I had the body of Michelin Man toddler and she requested people pay her 9 tickets to stare at me at the Texas State Fair. She also taught me that my Mom was a mushy drunk and I can never repay her enough for that.
Last Year’s Rank: 9

10.    Baillie Lott
The biggest drop of anyone in the Top 10, Lott is one of my fiancés best friends and someone I would still be friends with even if I hadn’t dated Katy Beth. Why the drop then? She moved to Tennessee and like the great pick up line says: She’s the only 10 I see. And plus I’m mad she moved away.
Last Year's Rank: 7

Just missed the cut:
 Mary Nell Jones- Step-Grandmother from the North… Houston. She came to a lot of football over the past few years but couldn’t crack a tough top 10.

Chanda Lawdermilk- She does HR for the Astros and I figure if I put her on here she could get me out of trouble a few times.

Tracey Bell- Another second mom for me, the mother of number 8) Jordan Bell but couldn’t get past her daughter on this one, not with that gimpy hip and everything.

Future Kids- If, God forbid, I have a daughter one day, she will assume the top spot until her early teens then probably make a resurgence after college.