A Note About Moms

Since it's Mother's Day, and I've mentioned not only having the Multiple Moms but also the hassle (a pain but worth it) of trying to get gifts off to 'em both, I thought I should take a moment on the blog to tell a tale or two in honor of 'em. There's a bit of a chronology here, but the mystery is good for you, trust me.

I am, as you may have guessed, a lot to put up with as a child.

Okay, I'm a lot to put up with now, too. But let's assume that's my fault and not theirs.

In spite of that, I don't ever remember my mother losing her patience with me (at least not until my teenage years). What I do remember is that she let me be curious about whatever I wanted to be. My father worked a lot, and so the day to day of dealing with me (as with so many families) came down to my mother. My father read bedtime stories, but my mother put up with all the questions, the exploration of rules, and the pushing of boundaries. She was the first one to have to deal with my wanderlust and sometimes ridiculous desire to explore.

I had a lot of fairly big medical difficulties as a kid, and it would've been easy to have been handicapped by them. A lot of parents would have needed to watch my every move or to have kept me out of things. But though I know my mother was often afraid for me, she never showed it and never stood for me being afraid.

And while the other mother didn't come into the picture until much, much later, there are things to be thankful for there, too. My other mother had to step out of my life before I ever knew her, and I'm sure - because we've talked about the circumstances - that it was the hardest thing under the worst conditions she could have to do. She was given a tough choice, and she made the right one though it was the hardest for her. We didn't meet again for twenty-five years, and when we did, it was obvious that she'd missed me every moment of that time. And though it wasn't easy, she accepted that I couldn't give back those years or those memories, and she was willing to start from there.

So thanks, Moms, for making me better and for making the hard choices. Thanks for always trying to do the right thing by me, putting up with me, and for all the times you've had to watch me go.

Happy Mother's Day.