You will always need your mom
Sarah Bloom, Times Lifestyles Columnist
I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not need my mom. Whether it was her advice, a warm hug, or even discipline her presence has always been important to me.
The good Lord blessed me with an exceptional mother. One who has faithfully eaten those burnt pieces of toast so that we would have the good. She is a mom who listens without judging, but still gives her advice and honest opinion. She is a Christian woman who sometimes cries when she prays and talks openly to the Lord. She has always known when to discipline and when to let the results of our mistakes be our greatest teacher.
Though as a mother she has made the wrong choices from time to time she is human, and she has learned from those missteps along the way. Those stumbles have only made her more precious because she taught me many lessons from them.
I think it is safe to say that “moms” are a universal need. Whether your mom was a step-mother, an adoptive mother, an aunt that stepped into those shoes, a family friend who filled that void or your birth mother, she is priceless. If she did her job with love and respect for the family God had given her then you know…you will always need your mom.
When I was in first grade my family moved to Montgomery County for a year to live with my grandmother. This meant a new school for me, new faces to try to make friends with and new teachers to be afraid of.
I was a fairly timid child at that time and stayed quiet until I felt comfortable around new people. I can remember my mom walking me down that long hallway toward the inevitable awkwardness of becoming the “new” kid in class.
Tears were stinging my eyes and I could barely swallow past the lump in my throat. Mom had to take my brother to meet his class so as the teacher led me to an empty desk. She kissed me good-bye and said she would come back to check on me.
As soon as she disappeared from sight I could no longer hold back the tears. Everything in me screamed, “I want my mommy!” I did not know these children or this strange new teacher and all I wanted to do was retreat to the comfort of my mother’s arms.
I am not sure if she sensed my distress, but just as quickly as she left she reappeared in that doorway. Just the sight of her made me feel so much better and being the great mom she is she did not make me stay in school that day. She took me with her even though I knew the next day I would have to tackle this strange new school alone, but knowing I had one more day made me feel so much better. Moms know these things.
Fast forward several years to my carefree high school days. Those days when I just knew that I had the world by the tail and was prepared for the ride. Life has a way of waking you up from time to time.
Though my mom no longer held my hand and walked me to class I knew that she was close. I knew that when I needed her she would be there. I cannot remember the number of times I called her from school in tears because some boy had “broken” my heart again. She did not judge me, she did not lecture me and tell me to straighten up instead she would always come to the school either to pick me up or to just hug my neck and tell me it was going to be alright. Even at seventeen, a young adult, I always needed my mom.
My mom was beside me as I became a new mother each time. She held my hand, she fed me, and she slept in those uncomfortable chairs beside my bed never leaving me alone. She taught me how to change a diaper and how to burp a fussy baby. She was my fellow zombie as we spent countless sleepless nights walking and rocking newborn twins.
She was the one who held me as I cried each time I brought home a new baby because the sudden reality of taking care of two, then three and then four children came crashing down on me all at once. Yes, I will always need my mom.
My mamaw McKinney passed away when I was in middle school and I can still see the pain and heartache that was etched on my daddy’s face as his mom was laid to rest.
Anytime he speaks of her the affection and respect in his voice is evidence of the great impact she made on her family. He is a grown man and though she has been gone for several years I know that there are times when he still needs his mom.
If you have been blessed to have a woman in your life who has always put your needs first, who has taken the time to teach you, to love you, to lift you up even though she was down then you should give thanks to the good Lord for giving you a mom. No one can take her place and no matter your age…you will always need your mom.
Happy Mother’s Day to my beautiful mom Elizabeth McKinney! Happy Mother’s Day to all of my aunts, cousins, friends, readers and other loved ones who are wonderful mothers and should be celebrated!
May God bless you and keep you, lift you up in your times of need and make your shoulders broad and strong.