Hey Mama

My mother has always been there as my teacher. While I have learned many fun things from her, like how to talk my way out of a ticket (extremely true story!), most of the lessons she taught me were serious and required her to work very hard to make them stick in my head.

For instance, my mom taught me not to shoplift. I was around 8 years old and my mother had taken me to Claire’s. If you’ve ever been in a Claire’s store, you know that the workers must get paid minimum wage and therefore have no desire in tidying up. The floors were always filthy, covered with various colored and glittery objects. I, in my youthful innocence, got it into my head that it was a universal rule that everything on the ground was free (actually). I loaded up my pockets with anything I could find and walked out, proud of my day’s accomplishments. (Note: Not one person said anything to me and no sirens went off…Claire’s Corporation, if a child can steal from you that easily, there’s a problem). When I buckled myself into the backseat, I laid out all my goodies next to me. My mother, being the responsible woman she is, looked back and asked me where I had gotten all my trinkets from.

“Don’t worry Mom,” I said. “They were on the floor.”

She immediately turned the car around and made me return all of the stolen goods. It was not a happy day.

Other than that, my mother has taught me about honesty, responsibility, and death. It was not easy for her to teach me these lessons, but she did without flinching. I think that’s because it’s her job. As my mother, she needed to step outside of her comfort zone to expose me to things I needed to know. And I really appreciate that. I know that you read this blog, Mom, so anyway. Thanks.