How do I write about one of the most important people in my life? The one who has been there since before I took my first breath and will be there til one of us takes our last. This will most likely be the hardest blog I’ll ever write and I’m sure it won’t be done without shedding some tears.
I had the best childhood any kid could ever dream of. We certainly weren’t rich but we didn’t want for anything but mine and my brothers wants were pretty basic and simple. My mom was a hard worker and always put others first. She literally worked day and night so we could have the best of everything that we needed.
Once I made it to high school I became my mother’s worst nightmare and I’m ashamed. I didn’t do anything that the other kids weren’t doing, I just did it to the extreme but yet she never turned her back or gave up on me. On the other hand, other kids were doing some pretty bad things that I would’ve never thought about doing………..hard drugs and sneaking out in the middle of the night, to name a few.
After high school and for many years, I made more mistakes than I can count and again, she never turned her back or gave up on me.
There was nothing my mom couldn’t do, sew or cook. She is so talented in many many areas and always goes above and beyond in every aspect of her life. She is an extremely talented artist and even her silly, fun paintings are perfection!
She is the most caring, giving and forgiving person I’ve ever known. More times than not, she could’ve given up on me.
We’ve became extremely close in the last several years and I am blessed to say she is my best friend; she’s the one I trust, she’s the one who will always have my back, she’s the one who loves me and understands me.
We spend a lot of time together now and we have so much fun no matter where we go or what we’re do. Our adventures always have to revolve around eating out. LOL We make all appointments around meal times so we “have to” eat out. After all, we have to carry on Mamaw’s tradition.
Several years ago, she and I and Courtney dressed up one Halloween and went to the campground where Warren and Jennifer camp. They only had 4 children then and they were walking around trick or treating. They had no idea we were coming. We found them with other trick or treaters and just fell right in the bunch unnoticed. We walked for 10-15 minutes acting crazy to the kids and poking them with the cane I had as part of my old man costume. We finally spoke and said something that only our family would know and they were all hysterical. We had a blast that night, I’ll never forget it.
We took a very quick trip to California in 2019 and I will always laugh and treasure those memories. We took in a San Diego Padres game and had prime seats, right behind home plate. It was awesome! One night we were driving back to our hotel; we took a wrong turn and ended up on the Marine base in San Diego. The MP’s were not impressed. We couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
I used to work at a slaughter house and I drove a truck back then. I had put a dead chicken in the back of my truck one night to dispose of. The next day I was to take my mom to the doctor and I totally forgot about the chicken. After the appointment, we decided to go to Goodwill in Carmel. I found a desk that I just had to have. We drove around the back of the building for the guys to load it in my truck. They came around the side of the truck to my window with eyes as big as my bus tires and said “Do you know there’s a dead chicken in your truck?” Those Carmel, Indiana boys were mortified and scarred for life, I’m sure. We told them it was our pet and he went everywhere with us and he must’ve got too hot and died. LOL
I’ve been lucky enough to go on a family vacation for the last 2 years and spend Christmas with my mom and David in Florida. Fun times! The first year we did a Disney Christmas for the kids. I hope they all treasure those memories, as we sure do. I love Florida or I should say, I love the sun and beach. I sure wish I could spend more time there and with my mom in the winter.
Petco Park in San Diego
The Padres vs the Reds
I took mom to the hippie fest in my bus and she had a great time. I’m sure she was very skeptical at first; maybe even terrified LOL but it didn’t take her long to realize it was an entirely different world, where there were no strangers and everyone adored her. As you can see……………she fit right in!
Now when I go without her, they ask where she is and how she’s doing. She will go back!!! She’s going to the hippie festival in Nashville, TN in October. I can’t wait!
Mom was in Florida when the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, when we were all locked down. Normally she would come to Indiana May thru October but last year she was stuck. Not only did she not leave the state but she didn’t leave her home for months on end. She wouldn’t risk flying and she didn’t want to ride with David and have to stop and use public restrooms.
In August, we decided that I would drive down to get her in my RV and she wouldn’t have to get out until we got home. What a great idea until the RV broke down on the way there and I had to rent a car for the remainder of the trip.
She decided she was coming home with me anyway in the rental car because she missed the kids so much. The night before we were suppose to leave, we had a heart to heart talk about the risk. The kids were headed back to school and could possibly expose her without them even being sick. We both made a heart wrenching decision that she should stay in Florida, in her home. This picture was the morning I left her and it was heartbreaking to say the least. It still makes me cry.
My mom is my rock star, she is my everything, she is my best friend. I can’t even imagine life without her and I just hope and pray that she is finally a little bit proud of me for something I’ve done right or maybe even the fact that I’ve turned my life around in spite of my past. I love you mom, as big as the world! Thank you for never giving up on me.