Karen at Write From Karen has started a contest. So I'm entering because it is a good one. And we're supposed to spread the word!
What my mom means to me...
I don't tell her very often because it's just not me to be overly loving (I didn't like to be held even as a kid) but I do appreciate my mom and everything she did for me (and still does!).
My dad worked during the day and my mom worked nights at the hospital (she is a Registered Nurse). She did the yard work and he did the cooking. When I was 8 my father died from cancer. He was 36 years old and my mom was 34...and now a single parent.
She used to tease me and my brother that she deserved gifts on mother's day AND father's day. We never bought into that theory. Heh.
It was difficult being a single mother. She moved us closer to our grandparents (still an hour away) and aunts and uncles. With the insurance money she bought a nice house in a nice neighborhood and started working. She worked part time for as long as I can remember. She always took the first day of school off so she could see us off and be home when we were done.
Her goal was to make sure that we didn't want for anything and I think she felt guilty that we didn't have a dad. She took us on trips that my dad probably would NEVER have allowed (he was super cheap and wouldn't have wanted to pay for them LOL). I got to go to Japan twice. She took me to Washington DC which I loved - I was a nerd even then. We went with my grandparents and dug sapphires in Montana when I was in 3rd grade (right after my dad passed away) and it was so fun. I remember sleeping in the camper as the sheet lightning surrounded us. It was incredible!
My mom always seemed to make it to my softball games. I played softball from third grade to twelfth grade. I loved (and still love) fast pitch softball. And even though it didn't seem like such a big deal at the time, after all I was an aloof teenager, having my mom there was really important.
I don't remember ever being embarrassed of my mom. She always would say "I know you're embarrassed to be seen with me" but I have no idea where she got that idea. I actually liked hanging out with her even when I was a teenager. And even today she's one of the few people I hang out with.
Being strict was part of her method of raising my brother and me. If I was even one minute late I got grounded. I had to call her if I was ever going to go anywhere she didn't expect (i.e. to a friend's after school). I even signed a contract that was taped to the fridge - it said that I could get a job at KFC as long as my grades didn't fall and I started paying my own car insurance. We both signed it at the bottom.
I'm glad she was so strict. And I'm thankful that she is my mom.
Karen...I think I made it past the 250 word requirement. hee hee
2 comments:
That was wonderful, I wish I could have written a fraction of those words about my mom, a relationship that has been troubled at times. Good luck with the contest!
You seem to have such a great relationship with your mom. Thanks for sharing.
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