Friday, May 6, 2011

My Momma


Do I really love my momma? I suppose you can say I do because she is, after all, my mom but sometimes that's just not enough. When I think about it, I'd have to say that I really do love her for my own very special reasons.

I'm the firstborn of 5 and each one of us have very different experiences with her and some that are the same. If you ask any one of us what the flaring nostrils mean, you'd get the same answer from all of us. If you are my brother Junior then the best thing she made was mashed potatoes and for me it was the french fries. Ask my sister Alicia about my mom and you would think she was talking about Joan Crawford in Mommy Dearest. (Not that mom abused us but Alicia was always in trouble. Remember the cop car and your jelly shoes, sis?) Aileen might say the trip to Hawaii was the best thing my mom gave her! The baby of the family, Tina actually called me mom, but that's just because my mom let her sleep with me as a baby and toddler and I had to take her everywhere. (Yes. Even on "dates") We all have our reasons for loving our momma.

I love my mom because of the times she played Karate with us. She made fish sticks like nobody's business and always the best brand (Gorton's!) She cared about our health even though those cod liver pills were nasty and made the oatmeal red, as she tried to hide them in it. My mom let me be a vegetarian for a year and didn't complain about it. She is the best cook every! She kissed my dad in front of us and showed us what true love looked like. (Yuck!) She showed us why we should never dance to close to a boy. (You don't want to know.) Mom took us to Puerto Rico on vacation and made sure we knew who our family was. Family is everything to her. My mom can make a split! She let me invite my friends over and yes, even some boys. She loved me even when I made huge mistakes in my life, over and over again. I love her because she lets me come over in the mornings to have coffee with her. She's a workout fiend and showed us how to exercise! (And one and two..) She knows what her grandchildren's favorite foods are and makes it for them with joy. My mom can make Friday nights into a party with a bag of Tostitos, cheese on the side, two pieces of fried fish, a steak and wine. She never has a problem with us crashing her date nights with her husband. I love my mom for the way she loves our dad. I love my mom because she loved her mom more than words could say.

The biggest reason I love my mom, is because she introduced us to Jesus. We didn't like going to church 3 times a week or being volunteered for the youth choir, prayer group and Easter procession but somehow those things stuck with me and later changed my life. (Better late than never) It's because of my momma's faith in God's promises to her that I can write this today. Thank you God for placing me in my family and for allowing me the privilege of loving my momma. Happy Mother's Day!