Looks like this geekling is being raised right!
It's time to announce the winner of our GeekMom $1,000 Shopping Spree!
This Mother's Day, we partnered with GeekMom to put together a $1,000 ThinkGeek Shopping spree and prize pack for the most deserving mother we could find.
We've found her.
It wasn't an easy decision to make. We received over 500 entries, each of them a heartwarming homage to an amazing geeky mother, and every single one deserved to win. In the end, we picked a random Mom from the top pool of essays.
Our Grand Prize Winner: Deborah H. and her sons Colin and Casey.
Here's an excerpt of Colin's essay:
My name is Colin, and my mother, Deborah H., is my biggest inspiration in life. She is a huge geek, just like me. We have always been a tight family--just me, mom and dad, and my brother, Casey. Casey has autism.
When I learned that Casey had autism (I was around 4 or 5), I thought that there was something "wrong" with him. Casey doesn't always do too well in social situations, and his brain works differently than that of a normal person (a concept that has always fascinated me). Little did I know, he would make me become a better person. Casey has taught me to appreciate people for their differences, to triumph in the face of adversity, to pursue the impossible, all with an unrelenting passion. I would not be the person I am now if it were not for Casey. Furthermore, through all the struggles of raising an autistic child, my mom maintained her compassion and vigor for life. She has always been understanding of his needs, while making sure I understood exactly why my brother was who he was.
--Colin H., on his GeekMom
We can't let the story sharing end with our winners, however. There were too many great entries.
Here are some of our favorites from the top pool of essays that didn't make it to the winner's circle:
Joi's GeekMom - Science!:
I was homeschooled since the schools in our town weren't academically rigorous. My mom didn't want me to miss out on science lab opportunities, so she found a supply company and bought a wide range of animals for me to dissect. We dissected earthworms, starfish, fish, clams, frogs, and fetal pigs. She even let me order a sheep's brain as a special treat!
And really, what better measure is there of a geek mom than one who will give you real brains to play with?
Brady's GeekMom - Compassionate, yet battle-ready:
Mom.
To me my mom is the one that nudges me in the direction that will help me most in my future. The one that shows me all the corny YouTube videos and explains all the jokes that I don't understand. In Olympus she would be the Hera the god of family. Every day the first thing she does when she gets home is dishes or dinner. She is the greatest writer in the galaxy and when I show her this on mothers day she will probably find a grammar error or fragment sentence.
She is the one that helps me when I'm in a rut. Introduced me to loving such a website like ThinkGeek and the April Fools jokes you play on my family every year. She also introduced me to her dangerous friends that taught me how to throw knifes, tomahawks and punch. She is the extension of my life and has introduced me to my future. She loves everyone with all her heart and can make friends with anyone. She deserves this prize and likely deserves every other prize that would include a mom-like figure she is ...
My mom.
Anonymous GeekMom's wife - All out of bubblegum:
Our gadget loving, high heeled mother of invention leaves her BFF's slack jawed, twitchy-eyed and reaching for the bottle with her details of the latest app or Sci-fi movie.
While she's no domestic goddess with a needle and thread, she creates highly detailed Halloween masterpieces like giant microbes, robots or mini-figures with re-purposed Styrofoam, Gorilla Tape and a staple gun.
A 3 time Lego League coach, she proudly led our son's team to the title of 'Most Explosive" two years in a row.
A Graphic Design Web Queen For Hire, she spends her days lording over websites and social realms and her evenings as homework director and culinary scientist.
Did I mention this GeekMom also loves fast cars, power tools, District 12, caffeine, and of course...bacon?
So many awesome GeekMom essays, so little time. If you'd like to hear more stories, or better yet, contribute one of your own, leave us a comment!
Also, if you've been a bit of a slacker and still need to find a little extra something for your GeekMom, we'd like to point you here. It may be too late to ship Mother's Day gifts, but a gift certificate is the next best thing!
Happy Mother's Day, Geeks! Thanks for making us smile, nod, and shed a tear or two.
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