Natick's Best Moms: Judy Harless

NATICK, MA—We reached out weeks ago asking readers to tell us: "who's Natick's best mom?" As it turns out, Natick's got a lot of great mothers.

Leading up to Mother's Day, we're going to feature and share some of the best "Patch Mom of the Year" nominations.

Today, we feature Judy Harless, who is from Natick, and was nominated by her daughter, Jennifer Harless.

What makes your mom extra special? My mom is awesome. When I was a kid, our house had an open door policy for friends and neighbors. When anyone came into the house you knew that you were going to be offered something to eat/drink and the rule was to accept it, or else her feelings would hurt. My mom grew up poor; she knew what it was like to go without basic things such as new shoes vs hand-me-downs.

My mom made sure that my brother and I had everything a kid could possibly want; if there was a new toy on the market everyone knew that we were going to have it. Every time a friend came over, they left with a "prize" of some kind, even if it was something small like a bottle of bubbles (I mean, who doesn’t love bubbles!?). Holidays were the best! Christmas Eve was the event of the neighborhood, an open house that started at 3 p.m. and would go until the last person was standing. There was so much food that we always needed at least three banquet tables, and in typical Judy fashion, everyone went home with a plate piled of whatever they wanted. We even had two Christmas trees; one for all the kids decorations (I’m 47 yrs old and she still has decorations I made in the third grade!) and the “Macy's Tree,” which was all white and took about three hours to decorate because she was so particular about where the tinsel went. My mom would find any excuse to have a party, and one year during a Patriots party she actually got contact lenses that had the Patriots logo on them!

My mom was at every single baseball, basketball, soccer and football practice that my brother had. She would cry in the car watching him because she was so proud of him even though it was just a practice. As we got older she hated the thought of us leaving Natick so she made sure that we didn’t have to. My mom bought a smaller house for her and my dad and let my brother and his family move into their bigger house. She then sold that smaller house and bought a two-family with me so that I could stay in Natick. She literally makes every decision based on what is best for my brother and me.

Still, to this day, if you walk into her house you are going to be offered something to eat or drink. If she knows you’re coming over then she’s going to have “just a little something” for you to take home with you. I live upstairs from my mom and I refer to her as the “fairy” because I am constantly finding things such as packages of paper towels or toilet paper on my stairs. She will leave me flowers on my porch. I’ve lived with her for just over a year and I have yet to have to buy any basic household items!

In the summer, she has "carnivals" at her house on the Cape. She has a full size hot dog cart, cotton candy machine, chocolate fountain, snow cone machine, two deep fryers (one for fries and one for fried dough) and she even has a full size ice cream novelty chest (the kind you see in places like 7-eleven) and has is stocked at all times for anyone who stops by. On the non-party days, if a kid (including the neighbors and their friends) wants a snack all they have to do is walk up the deck to the window and ring the bell (yes she has a service window set-up just like you find at a place like Dairy Queen). She comes to the window and takes the kids' orders and then reminds them to cool off in the pool after their snack.

Why do you feel your mom deserves the spotlight? My mom deserves the spotlight because she puts every single person around her first. She still treats my brother and me like kids and gives us Easter and Valentine's Day presents. She treats her three grandkids like they are gifts to the world, and makes sure that even their friends feel welcome. She still finds every excuse possible to have a party and include everyone, makes sure they leave with a "prize," even if they are 55 yrs old. She embraces the fun in life by allowing me to post on Facebook all the funny things about her, like the fact that she not only makes her own frosting but also has five cans of store bought “just in case,” or how everyone is jealous that my mom has a cotton candy machine simply because she knows it’s my favorite thing to eat. Anyone who knows my mom personally loves her and all of my friends who haven’t met her yet ask me, “will she adopt me please?” because of all the stories I’m always telling about her.

Think your mom is the best? Tell us why. Here's how to submit.

Photo submitted