Hindsight In 2020 #17: The First Woman I Ever Loved
There’s a lady in my life that doesn’t get talked about enough. Before I had a daughter, before I met and married my wife; this woman was the only one who held my heart. This particular woman was actually the first woman I ever loved. That woman is my mother.
My mom was and is an amazing mother. Very rarely will you see her with anything other than a smile on her face. She is full of joy and loves to spread that joy to anyone within reach. She’s been that way as long as I can remember. Her laughter is infections and her presence makes you feel comfortable.
Growing up I didn’t notice all the things that my mother did for our family. Every night when I would come home from school, sports practice, or a game, there would always be something to eat in the kitchen. Most of the time mom had prepared it herself. She was good at banging pots and pans during Gamecock football games. Dad and I always gave her a hard time about it. But you know what, she was using those pots and pans to make us, the ones picking on her, delicious meals. No matter what her day was like, no matter how tired she was, my mom always had supper cooked for us when we got home.
Thank you mama for always being willing to cook for us, fix a snack, and do the dishes without ever once complaining. It took me owning a house and having kids to truly appreciate all you did for us growing up. Thank you for all you did.
I’ve often boasted about my father only missing one sporting event during my entire high school career. I’m not just talking about high school games. When I say ‘a sporting event’, that covers travel baseball too. During our middle school years, we played just about every weekend all around the state of South Carolina. Dad was always there, except for one game that he had to miss on business. There was only one game out of a couple of hundred that he had to miss.
But you know who was there?
That’s right. My mama was there cheering as loud as she could just like she always did.
Thank you mama for always cheering me on when I played sports. I remember hearing you behind the plate telling me to “hit it to the moon”! Thank you for all the Gatorade and snacks that you brought to the dugout even during my upper-classmen years in high school. I know now that you did it out of love and didn’t want your baby to be without. Thank you for all you did.
There’s one thing not many people know about my mom. That lady can fish. Make no doubt about it, my daddy is the bassmaster; but, my mama can hang right there with him. She may fish a little slower than us; however, she often catches just as many fish because she isn’t burning the reel up like me and pops. She’s not like most women who recoil at the thought of waking up early, freezing on a cold spring morning, and spending the entire day in a bass boat fishing. That’s not her. Instead, my mama wants to go fishing. Sure, she may think she’s hung and end up being hung in a fish’s face, or nearly break the rod trying to reel the fish in; but the woman loves to fish.
Thank you mama for going fishing with dad and me. You are usually the encouragement we need when the bite gets tough. Your ability to throw a lunch together on the water is unprecedented.
Her heart is full of love for her family, including; her husband of forty years and her two sons. Both of those sons, one being me, has married and had children of their own. My mother says that she never had any daughters of her own but was blessed to receive two beautiful daughter-in-laws the day my brother and I married our brides.
There may be one thing that she loves more than her husband and children: her grandkids.
My mom has three grandchildren. Mom has told me repeatedly that when she holds those grandbabies, it’s like she’s holding me and my brother all over again. She absolutely loves her grandchildren.
And those grandkids know it. My kids call her ‘Ma’. And Ma loves to spoil them. She spoils them in the best of ways, of course! I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that my children would rather be with their Ma any day of the week than be with me! When Ma is around, there’s no substitute. In no way am I jealous of their love for her; because, I’m so overjoyed that my children have a grandmother like my mom who plays with them, gets dirty with them, and isn’t afraid to act a little silly just to make them smile.
Thank you mama for loving my kids. Thank you for always being willing to drop whatever you’re doing and help out with them when needed. You know they love you and always hate to see you leave. I’m so glad and thankful that you are their Ma.
As I look back on the relationship my mother and I have shared, I am forever grateful that I was blessed with such an amazing, patient, and loving mom. Mama, you were the first woman I ever loved and I want you to know that I love you more and more every day.
Thank you for wiping my rear end as a baby and kid. Thank you for every meal you ever cooked or bought. Thank you for making me do my homework and not whipping my butt for talking too much in class. Thank you for continually putting your family first and for loving us the way you do. You're the best mom and Ma anyone could ask for.
I love you mama.
Happy Fryeday!
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