Mother’s Day Appreciation

Helpful, vibrant and outgoing are three descriptive words for my mother.  I view them with a mixture of amazement and gratitude.  They just as easily could have been disheartening descriptions.  Mom was born the sixth child of Lloyd and Lora in the mountains of Tennessee.  She grew with the memories of poverty and hardship. 

Thankfully my childhood memories are quite different.  I remember mom playing Frisbee, croquet and badminton with me in the front yard, taking a friend and I to Sugar Shack for burgers after our team won a 17 inning game that went way past midnight, rubbing the cramps out of my legs in the middle of the night, making fluffy mashed potatoes almost every single day and flying off the snow embankment on our sled ride together.  She was loving and kind always giving herself and her resources sacrificially.

Family is extremely important to mom.  It has rubbed off on me.  I too carry a fierce commitment to family.  I guess it’s the Appalachian way.  I know it is mom’s way.  She loves son and nieces, sister and grandchildren, distant cousins and husband.  Mom is the one who is sitting up at the hospital, hemming a pair of jeans or calling to see how someone’s doing.  It is from the heart.  She is loved for it.

Mom has an open friendliness that causes others to warm up to her. She is naturally interested in people, another thing that has rubbed off on me.  There are no pretenses with her; she is comfortable in her own skin and unconcerned about status.  Unencumbered, humble, genuine. 

Mom, thanks for making my path easier.  Thanks for the song in your voice when I call.  Thanks for loving me.  I’m proud of you.  Happy Mother’s Day.