HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY

My relationship with my mother has evolved over the years.  As a child she was my hero.  She could take meager leftovers and somehow turn them into a meal fit for a king.  She was a Stay At Home Mom and didn't drive a car, but that didn't slow her down.  Even when my dad was out to sea with the Navy she would pack a lunch and take us walking, or load us on a bus and go on an adventure.  I remember that she had the most beautiful singing voice and even as I got older I was never too old to listen to her singing lullabyes.

As I entered my teens she was the cool mom on the block.  All of my friends and neighbor kids called her 'mom'.  And she was awesome!  She was active in the PTA and Scouts, even long after we left those organization, but she was never too busy for us.  Family was very important to her.  By that time I guess all of her teenage children were starting to rub off on her because she began to swear.  But she could never just come out and swear... she would lower her voice to a whisper and spell the cuss word out.  She was getting extra money babysitting loved to spend it on us kids.  I remember she used to always buy me those cute little matching bra and panty sets from Payless.

When I graduated from high school I was unsure what I wanted from my future but she never pushed or rushed me.  When I finally landed my dream job in town, she would get up early and pack my lunch for me.  And it wasn't just a sandwich and drink stuffed in a sack.  She knew what my favorites were and she always put so much love into something as simple as a lunch.  There would be mustard on my bologna with sliced pickles, or pastrami on rye with swiss cheese.  The lettuce and tomato would always be packed in a baggie so they wouldn't make the rest of the sandwich soggy.  When I got home after work there was always some kind of tantalizing meal ready to be served.  Her kitchen never closed and we spent countless hours at the kitchen table in the wee hours of the morning just talking.

Now she is the grandmother to my own children and she hasn't lost her magic.  My children adore her.  When she visits my house is filled with the aroma of her wonderful cooking round the clock.  Two years ago we attended a Family Reunion in Hawaii with all of my sisters, my brother, neices and nephews in attendance.  And it was like old times, sittingaround the kitchen table until the wee hours of the morning, laughing as we shared old beloved memories, with Mama chiming in from the kitchen where she was preparing some wonderful dish that she had whipped out of thin air.

I have always said that my mother is the wisest woman I know.  She did not go to college, she doesn't talk politics or World issues.  She talks about matters of the heart.  Her classroom has been her life and the world around her.  She majored in Compassion and Common Sence.  She still has a beautiful voice, she still spells out her cuss words, and she still buys me panties and bras.  She is still the wisest woman I know and the best mother I could ever hope to have or ever hope to be.

I believe I was 17 when I wrote this poem for my mom:

          I want to be a singer, Mom
          A star with a guitar.
          I want to be a poet,
          And travel near and far.
          I want to be an artist
          And a picture taker too.
          But most of all I want to be
          A Mother just like YOU!

Happy Mother's Day Mama, and to all of the mothers out there.