Oh Mama!

Love this picture of my mom.  It's on the Pakistan/India border with Indian soldiers.
She's showing them pictures of her family.
She could make friends with a wooden fence, I swear.

I knew my mom was something special the day I got my wisdom teeth taken out.  I was in college and lived 90 minutes away from my parents.  I decided not tell my parents that I was getting the old molars pulled.  I was striving for independence.  I wanted to be an adult and do adult like things- like getting teeth pulled- without the help of my parentals. 

The morning of the surgery I was having second thoughts.  I had never gone under with anesthesia and the little girl in me wanted my mama here during this scary moment.  I figured if I could at least talk to my mom, I would be okay.  I called her on the phone and when I told her that I was getting my wisdom teeth out in ten minutes she sounded so sad that she couldn't be there.  

When I came out of the surgery an hour later, my friend drove me home and propped me up on the couch where I quickly dozed off.  When I woke back up, my mom was at my apartment.  She had brought juice and soup and yogurt and gatorade.  She changed the bloody gauze in the back of my mouth and fluffed the pillow and got me the remote and asked if I needed more Loratab.  Just like that she had rearranged her day, driven through two canyons, and been there for me when I needed her.  And I hadn't even bothered to give her an hour's heads up.

That's when I knew my mom was something else.

Happy Mother's Day to all! 
Unless you're a father.  Today's not your day.