Mom Thoughts

Since it's Mother's Day, I been thinking about my mom (shocking, I know; who'd thunk I'd do such a thing), and for some reason, an incident from my early childhood comes to mind.

I was in kindergarten.  To be old enough to go to school was cool enough, but what made the situation even more awesome was we lived less than a block away from the grade school.  This situation allowed me to walk to the building and back home.  To be old enough to walk to school was a very "big boy" thing.  As far as I know, mom would watch from the window as I crossed the street and joined in with the other kids headed in the same direction.  One morning, moments after stepping onto the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, an older boy on a bike yelled, "Watch out!" as he whipped past me.  I don't remember if he actually hit me, but I do remember he was inches from my face.  Startled, I stepped back, lost my balance and fell on the cement.  I started to cry.  I wasn't physically injured by the near miss, but I was frightened by it and my five-year-old pride may have taken a bit of a hit as well.  The crying wasn't the screaming or tantrum type; it was more along the lines of "I've just had a traumatic experience and I need someone to comfort me and tell me I'm okay!"
 

Several groups of children passed by my pathetic figure during this time, but priest or Levite-like, none of them offered to assist me in my moment of distress.  I don't blame them.  I doubt I would have known what to do with me either, but I wasn't going to stop crying until someone comforted me.  After what seemed like ten minutes but was probably only one, I heard my mom's voice calling out to me.  She has seen me get knocked over and had hurried as quickly as possible to come and help me.  Her voice and words of comfort immediately stopped my sobs.  She checked me for scrapes, bruises or any type of blood, helped me stand up, brushed the dirt off my clothes and sent me on my way toward the school building.  With her help, my fears were calmed, my embarrassment eased and I was able to walk confidently to school.

I don't know if she realizes it, but my mom has helped me do that a lot throughout my life.  I want to take a moment to thank her for all the times she's given me the courage and confidence to move positively toward the various worthwhile destinations in my life.

This thank you note will not be posted on Mother's Day as I struggle to catch up in my writing (every time I think I'm getting close, I fall back), but I was definitely thinking about her on that day, so this post will have that date. :)