By Staff
Lindsey Sherrill, Guest Columnist
I've been disillusioned. I thought moms could make everything better. Recently mine informed me that she can't. I think I'm going to cry.
Okay, so seriously maybe I didn't think my mom could fix everything, but I guess that's an illusion we all cling to. I mean, maybe moms can't fix everything, but they sure come close. And maybe that's why "mom" is enshrined in almost everyone's eyes–and why she has her own special day.
Where would we be without our moms? Who else would give you all that great advice or threaten your life that many times and yet always manage to hold off on actually killing you? And who else can come up with such great warnings as "don't come running to me when you cut off your legs in that lawnmower!"? I bet there's not a kid anywhere who hasn't heard some variation of that one…
But who else can you go to when you've been hurt? Who else will bandage that bloody knee or wipe that runny nose? Who else loves you even when you don't love yourself? Moms are pretty awesome.
I've got one of the coolest moms ever. When I started writing she told me she didn't want me writing about her. Sorry, Mom, just this once. My mom has always been there when I needed her. She's definitely not the cookie baking type. And she doesn't put up with any whining, which is really too bad because I'm pretty good at it. I can't count the number of times she's told me, "oh, just die quietly!" in answer to one of my complaints. But if I really was sick or hurt, she's taken care of me.
And my mom is always saying great stuff that sticks with me. The one thing I remember her telling me the most over the years, no matter what the situation, is "this too shall pass." And whatever it was, it always has. Mom also says some pretty funny things. For instance, she says I have "troll toes." I'm still paranoid about that. (Of course, now that I look at them, she may have a point…) My mom also seems to enjoy planning her own funereal. Don't even ask. I don't get it either. But I guess the one single trait or saying of my mother's that I'll always remember is one of her warnings. Maybe that's because of the frequency of which she says it to my dad and me when we're driving. Whenever she thinks we need to slow down she'll say "brakes!" I don't know how she does it. There won't be a red light or taillight anywhere that I can see and she'll yell "Brakes!" I think the reason the cars in front of me always brake then is because they hear her too…
But all joking aside, I want to take this opportunity, here at Mother's day, to say thanks to my mom for everything. For not killing me when I'm whiny, for promising that everything will pass, for scaring me half to death in the car, even for making jokes about my toes. But maybe, most of all, for being not just my mom but also my friend.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
Lindsey Sherrill is a columnist for The Atmore Advance. Comments for Lindsey should be directed to editor@atmoreadvance.com