Mom...

Mothers day is this Sunday, so I wanted to take a moment to talk about my mother.

My mother is a great woman. She is the model of sacrifice, dedication, and hard work. She instilled morals and values in that I still call on to help me get through life. I couldn't have asked for a better influence on my life, and for her I am forever grateful.

Growing up, it was always just me and her. I had no father, and no brothers and sisters. She never got any child support. We got a little assistance through welfare, but that was it. She was a white woman... no money... raising a minority child... all alone. I know it was hard for her, but she never let me see it. She was always optimistic and positive, and I needed that.

Times were hard though. Food was always a problem. We never had enough. We would walk to the IGA on 12th and Walnut and go food shopping every Saturday with like 20-30 dollars. My mom would somehow stretch that out and make it last for the week. My dinners may have consisted of liver and lima beans, but I was always fed.

I have a lot of food stories. I remember there was a time when my mom didn't have any money for food, and she was just sitting on the kitchen floor crying. I was like 12. I had 5 dollars in my pocket. I got the money by selling my free lunch ticket at school. I used that money to gamble... that was my hustle. I would always find something to eat along the way. So while she is there crying, I went to my friends house where some of the older kids gambled. We pitched pennies, rolled dice, and played cards. That must of been my lucky night, because I ended up turning that 5 dollars into $120. I was soooo happy. I will never forget running home down 9th St and through Hess's, excited to tell my mom. When I showed her the money, she gave me a big hug. I was so happy to have been able to help her, because I hated to see her struggle.

When I got a little older and 30 dollars just wasn't enough for both of us to eat, we started to go to the Food Bank. I will never forget there was this one Saturday morning that I DID NOT feel like going. You see I was in 11 grade then, and I was the starting quarterback on the football team. I will never forget that morning, because it was the day after our first game that season. We played Lancaster McCaskey and I had a good game--such a good good that my name was in the headline of the newspaper article written about it(even though they spelled it wrong :-/). Well duty called, and no matter who I thought I was, my mom still made me get up and help her carry food home from the food bank. What made it worse is that when you get food from the Food Bank it doesn't come in bags, it comes in boxes. So here I am... nice big article in the paper that morning mostly written about me... and I'm walking home with this box of food from the food bank. Those were the most embarrassing experiences for me, but also some of the most important. She made me humble, and I needed that.

I could go on... and on... and on... and on... about the lesson's in life she taught me, but I will keep it short for now(I may write a book about it one day though). I am very lucky to have had her in my life. There have been many times in my life when there was a crucial decision to be made, and instead of going down the wrong path, I called on the advice and lessons from my mother. It always ended up being the right decision. There were so many negative influences all around like drugs, guns, and everything else, but no influence was as strong as the influence from my mother. Thanks for everything Mom. I love you. I appreciate you more than you will ever know. If you ever read this, I hope you liked the digital picture frame I got you for mothers day.

Ok that's all for now... thank you for visiting and stay tuned...