This will probably be one of the hardest posts that I will write in my time here. Today we are going to talk about “M”om/”M”oms! This post is a long time coming because my mother deserves the gratitude and the adoration that I hope will come out of this.
I lost my mother a handful of years ago, and while it wasn’t easy, I remember each day of the things she instilled upon me, and how that has affected how I became the man/husband I am today. My mother was born and raised in a small West Virginia town called Logan. She did not have much growing up, and she learned from the beginning that life gives you allot of hard knocks.
But with this post, I want to pay homage to my mother, she was my friend, my teacher, and really my father figure all wrapped up into one. I won’t get into all that, its not relevant to the post, but to know her and respect her, just wanted you to know she was that strong force behind that motherly love. My mother never finished school, she never got to finish past 8th grade due to the life she was led through, but that never stopped her from becoming all she was supposed to be. You see, while I was in my last couple years of high school, my mom decided she wanted her GED, so what did she do, she studied, I helped her study especially with the math and science. You know what happened? She passed, first time through, better yet? She placed 2nd highest score that year in the State of Ohio. Wow!
It didn’t end there, she found a city assisted program to train to become a Practical Nurse, and she finished 2nd in her class that time as well, but in my heart she always finished first, for her determination. She eventually got her LPN, and worked in the nursing field for 18+ years. During that time it became apparent of what my career choice would be, with a influence from the show Emergency from the 70’s and my mother, it instilled who I am today, in the Paramedic I became to be.
I remember there were points in my life as a kid, that my mother was working almost 2 full time jobs, just to keep us fed, or clothed, or with shoes (and I have big feet, they were expensive!), and she always still went without most times (sorry, just a tear or a few), she never got herself anything, a new dress, shoes, make-up, just the occasional bottle of hot sauce, she loved that stuff on everything!
From an early age, my mother gave me the tools to become who I am today, the loving husband, the caring soul in this world, the paramedic that has risked his life (and have almost died 3 times for another person I did not even know). She taught me its better to make less at a job and be happy, than make more at it and be miserable, she taught me to respect woman, and to always treat them as equal, she taught me to open doors, to say thank you, to pick up a cane for an elderly person, to give up my seat on the bus when someone else really needed to sit down, she taught me the value of money, and how not to lose respect for it, and that with what little you have, to survive the best you can. She taught me how to throw a baseball, she bought me books because she always knew I loved to read, and could never have enough, and again, with knowledge that she never did things for herself. She taught me the value of life, and through her I have learned from my mistakes, and know that she completely molded me from a clump of clay to the person I am today. So mom, I love you!
The last few years before she died, we weren’t as close as we should have been, no fault of hers, but mine, and I live with that everyday. I often think of things I wish I could have done for her, or places to take her before she died, and while I cannot change the past, I so wish I could have done something remarkable for her, at least one last time. For this I have learned the hardest lesson of all, you can’t take for granted the simple things, the things that matter, for when they are gone they are gone. So I ask one simple thing out of this post, Tell your mom you love them, tell them thank you for giving me what it is that made you who you are, and give them a hug if you can. You don’t have to say anything sometimes for the meaning of it to be shown.
Of all the amazing things my mother did for me, of all the sacrifices, of all the words she had shared, one funny thing she said will always take precedence in my head, I remember the day before I was going into the Army out of High School, my mom sat next to me, my packed bag in front of me, and said she loved me, that she was proud of me, that she hopes that I continue to discover the person I was to be, to become a man, and the funniest part “to go out there in life and get laid!”, I cracked up when she said it, but I think that was the father role she also had to play coming out. It took a couple more years for that last part to happen, but after it did, I kind of chuckled (not letting the other person hear it, of course!).
So thank you mom. Thank you for all that you were, are, and continue to be, I am sorry for not being there as I should towards the end, but I assure you that I am who I am because of you! Life is precious, its based on time, something that expires, don’t let things expire before you have finished up most of what you have to do!
As always, I thank you for reading this, if you would like to share it that would be great. I thank you for visiting the site, hope you continue to come back, and again thank you all for who you are! Share your comments below if you have any, and remember to have a fantastic day! Tom.
Discover more from Tom's Take On Things
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I said I am sure your mom is looking down, proud of the man you have become, and thanked you, because I was going to have my mom’s meatballs, and you reminded me to hug her a little tighter.
Thank you for sharing that! I am glad you re-posted it, give her a hug for me too! Have a great day, and meatballs are the bomb! Keep smiling, and hope to see you back here soon! Tom.
Tom,
I posted here the other day, yet I don’t see it?
Hi Dana,
I am not sure what happened, I just got done checking my spam folder, I did not see it there, and I checked by ip address too..I am sorry, thank you though for posting, would love to see if you would post again, would love to see your thoughts, again my apologies. Tom.
Beautiful and heartfelt post, Tom. Well said! This makes me never want to take a moment for granted!
Thank you Lauren, I appreciate the kind words and thoughts, have a fantastic day, and thanks for stopping by!
What a heartfelt tribute to your Mom. It is amazing what Mom’s do for their children and how much that means to us as kids when we are all grown up. As your Mom looks down on you now I am sure that she is so proud of who you have become and is more than happy of what you think of her.
Thank you Tammy, I appreciate your thoughts and comments, thank you so much for stopping by, and hope to have you back! Tom.
Wonderful post Tom. You really know how to warm the heart. I really appreciate my mother as well and she has given me so many gifts to share on with others. Thanks for sharing a great post. 🙂
Thank you Quida for sharing about the appreciation you have for yours, that made my day! Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you visit often! Have a fantastic day! Tom.
Beautiful remembrance and tribute to your mom.
Thank you very much, I appreciate the comment, have a wonderful and fantastic day!
What a wonderful post!!
Thank you for stopping by Jennifer, and thank you! Keep on stopping back, have a great day!
What a great post. Here’s to your mom. She sounds like she was a great mother, father and everything in between.
Thank you Mary, she was. Thank you for your comments. Be sure to stop back, or sign up…would love to have regular readers. Have a fantastic day!
This was so refreshing to hear! With everything going on it is nice to know how much someone can appreciate their mom. I am sure she is smiling down 🙂 She sounds like she was an amazing person!!
Thank you Jessica for the nice comment, I do appreciate it, and I do hope she is smiling down. Keep stopping back! Have a great day!
That was a very sweet, beautiful post. I am still very close to my mother and am the youngest out of all of my siblings. She has been a strong woman my entire life and hasn’t had the easiest of lives. I love her and worry about her every day since she is getting older.
I am so glad to hear you have a close relationship with her, that warms my heart, and makes me smile, thank you so much for your comment, tell her I said hi next time you talk to her! Have a great day!
Great post. It’s nice to hear such appreciation for a Mom – I only hope I can be a good enough mom to my kids that they feel the same way about me! I often think about that when I’m trying to balance work and family time. It’s not an easy job!
Thanks for the response Wendy, its not an easy job, and I give you Kudos Wendy for the job you do, I am sure they feel the same even though they might not say it out loud all the time! It is a hard balance, but I am sure you know you do it for them! Thanks again, and have a fantastic day!
What a heartfelt tribute to your Mom. 🙂 The person you are and how you lead your life are the biggest compliments you could ever give her. It sounds like you had a great Mom and that you know it. 🙂
Thank you Jessica for a fantastic response, I appreciate it, and I did have a great mom. Have a wonderful day, keep stopping back!