Mom

Today is my Mother’s birthday.  Years ago I heard Dennis Rainey challenge folks to honor their parents by writing them a tribute. I never got around to doing that for either of my parents and now that I only have my Mom left I feel I’d better get to it. So here’s a few of my memories and my feeble attempt at honoring my Mom for being, well, my mom.

I interrupted my Mom’s 19th birthday bright and early on a cold Monday morning. That was the last time I was an early riser or that I liked Mondays. Going through life sharing a birthday with my Mom has been an experience. As a child it wasn’t so cool. My birthday was never “mine” like my brother and sisters who had their own days. I guess I was jealous. As an adult sharing birthdays with my Mom is a special treat, one that I’m happy to have. Even though we don’t always see each other on our special day, it still is “our” special day, and occasionally we throw in a turkey too. I have often wondered how G-d could make two people who were so different share the same day. He must have a sense of humor.

I remember my Mom baking each of us special cakes for our birthdays. Sometimes they were elaborate like Barbie doll dress cakes, other times they were just plain old cakes. We didn’t usually have big birthday party bashes, but we always had cake and family over. 🙂 Sometimes our birthday got preempted by Thanksgiving festivities. Funny things a kid will remember.

I also remember that my Mom could be a wonderful good cook, when she wanted to. Then there was goulash… *barf* I also remember the time the pressure cooker lid exploded off and hit the ceiling…

I remember having to wash the dishes… so many dishes. I hated it. Thanks to my Mom, I love dishwashers. *snicker*

Life wasn’t easy for me in a lot of ways but I always knew that my Mom loved me. There were always hugs and kisses. We went fishing a lot. Camping too. I love camping. Hunting was another family activity. We played Atari (yep, we’re that old) and then Nintendo.  All of these favorite pastimes instilled in me by my Mom.

My Mom is a very social person, all of my friends loved her. I thought they were nuts! I remember one time being particularly offended that my friend Lisa would sit and talk to my Mom more than me! I understand why now of course… but back then, I was not amused!

My Mom never bad-talked my Dad. Even though they had split when I was so young, when I asked about him she was always kind and related him lovingly to me and with a hint of something I didn’t quite understand back then. When I told her that I wanted him in my life she managed to find him and get into contact with him, all this in a pre-internet age.

As a kid you always think that there is something wrong with your parents. You know, they are too strict or too nosy or just annoying. Yeah, I thought the same thing about my Mom. It isn’t until you become a parent yourself that things become a bit more clearer.

We’ve had our differences over the years. We’ve had our fights, our periods of silence, our tears, and then our hugs. She’s not perfect, she’s a human. I remember that day, when I realized that my Mom was human! Before that she was some super-heroic Wonder Woman type person! Ha! G-d does have a sense of humor. She’s made mistakes, just as I have, we’re not so different after all. That’s part of learning through life.

Sometimes now, I open my mouth and her words come out. I know that she has always done the best she could with what she had. I hope that when my own kids look back that they can say something similar about me… and know without doubt that I always loved them, and always will, just like she loves me and I love her. Thanks Mom… Happy Birthday!

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