In honor of her birthday, I thought I’d pen a little tribute
to the lady who is my Mother. Whenever I think of my mom in song, I always
think of that song “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan. I’m pretty sure he wrote that song about her.
“May you grow up to
be righteous
May you grow up to be
true
May you always know
the truth
May you see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
May you stand upright
and be strong
May you stay forever
young…”
My Mama is a free spirit and a joyful heart. She dances in church, says stuff that she
shouldn’t, and laughs at everything. She
is frequently irreverent. She pretty
much does or says whatever she feels in the moment…she’s about the most genuine
and sincere person most of us will ever know.
And it’s a little funny when this quality gets her in trouble.
She’s also passionate
and feisty. Woe be unto you if you hurt
someone she loves. She’s a champion of
the underprivileged, the underappreciated.
She is in her element serving others…whether she’s feeding them,
inviting them into her home or greeting them with a warm hug and a smile, she
has the skill of making people feel at ease.
She loves music, it speaks to her soul and it flows through
every move she makes. She laughs at
people when they get hurt, which is a terrible, terrible reaction that she has
passed onto her kids. To this very day,
my immediate reaction when someone trips is to laugh hysterically. I don’t know why this is, but the reaction is
automatic and I have to fight VERY HARD to keep myself in check.
My cousins and I often muse about our mothers and how they
are the definition of the word “survivor”.
It’s pretty mind-boggling to consider the early lives of my mom and her
siblings. I’ll never fully understand
how those ladies turned out to be such strong, courageous, wise, loving people. I have a very deep sense of pride in who my
mom is for all that she’s been through.
People know her as teacher, wife, friend and sister…but I,
along with my siblings, are lucky enough to know her as Marmee, Mama, and MoTHER
(emphasis is key here). She’s taught us
to be independent, creative, to figure things out on our own, to work hard and
be kind, genuine people. She taught us about
accepting ourselves and others for exactly the people that they are in that
moment. She taught us that nothing is
too much for the ones you love.
For those of you who were not lucky enough to have been
endowed with Sara L. Willard’s motherly wisdom, I feel compelled to share a few
of her gems with you:
- Never run over a plastic bag in the road because it could contain something awful, like a corpse. (I KNOW. This is so awful, which is probably why it sticks in my head.)
- Smashed ants smell like bleu cheese (this is actually 100% true).
- Pull over on the side of the road immediately if you start blinking slowly, a sure indicator that you are about to fall asleep at the wheel
- It’s totally possible to catch a bird in the back yard using a stick, string and a cardboard box (NOTE: This was an ingenious way to occupy us for hours at a time when we were kids)
- If you are playing Hide-and-Seek with her, under no circumstances should you fall for the trick of going to hide first. She has a faulty memory when it comes to remembering to LOOK for you.
- “Pipe juice” is actually just plain old water.
- Few subjects are off limits, I’ll spare you the details. I’ll just say that we are a very open family, a fact that may have backfired on my mom in particular a little later in life. She might wish that her kids were just a tiny bit less open than we are now!
My childhood wasn’t luxurious or excessive. It wasn’t perfect. My parents worked hard to provide us with
everything we needed. Looking back, I
have very happy, content memories of my childhood. I remember flying kites, playing outside, and
spending long, simple, happy days together.
We grew up with love and security and a real sense of what life is
really all about. My parents gave us a
strong foundation, their love and wisdom holds us strong when the winds of
change may blow. For that, I’ll always
be grateful.
So here’s to you, the best and prettiest Mama in the
land. Bob said it best when he said “May
your heart always be joyful, may your song always be sung…and may you stay
Forever Young”.
