Erma. And Mom.

Erma. She looked remarkably like my own mother!

My mom was your typical mom of the sixties and seventies.

She was a stay-at-home mom (long before the term “stay-at-home” was even used).  She was just a mom. Like millions of other women. Overworked. Under-appreciated. And certainly under-represented in media.

Then came the refreshing, honest voice of another mom from Dayton, Ohio. Her name was Erma Bombeck. She started writing a newspaper column, At Wits End, which brought a spotlight to this legion of women around the world who gave this profession (as Erma called it, the world’s “second” oldest profession!) their heart and soul.

At Wits End appeared in over 900 newspapers. I remember my own mother laughing, smiling, and sometimes crying her way through many of those columns. They validated the craziness of her world. Erma brought meaning to what was happening inside homes around the country while writing about virgin topics that had never yet been explored. And along the way a country – and a world – fell in love with her.

Erma wrote 12 books – nine of them were New York TImes’ Bestsellers. She was also a regular contributor on Good Morning America. Many consider her one of the most important contemporary writers of the 20th century.

I know my mom did. So do I.

That’s why I’m just a tad beyond excited to be named to this year’s faculty of the 2012 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. Why me? Well, I’m still trying to figure that out. This is a collection of some of the best humor voices in our country – all sharing their story and their love for making people smile and think.

I’ve got a lot of funny to find over the next few months while I gear up for my Erma moment.