Never Too Old

I have always been a bit of a Mama's Girl. I adore my mother, and never went through "that phase" as a teenager. When I went away to college, I realized what she had worked so hard for in the 18 years that were my life. When my daughter was born 3 months ago, I realized what being her had meant, and why she was so good to me each day of my life. I'll never be able to fully say what she means to me in a paragraph. I can't buy her a gift from the gift shop that sums it up. I guess my thanks to her will reflect in each day I have with the lil' dude. It'll be a generational show of love and gratitude.

Last week, I had minor surgery on my heel, which rendered me on crutches and in a lot of pain and on high doses of powerful drugs for the immediate days post-surgery. Being the Dad has a full-time job and we have the little dude to think of, I asked my mom to come stay for three or so days to help out. She had to take the days off in the middle of the week as vacation . . . days I assume she'd rather spend with my dad on a road trip, at the cabin, or drinking wine on the deck. But she took them for me.

Between bouts of me needing help getting into a bathtub naked, puking in a Tupperware bowl in my living room, chasing the dog back home from the neighbor's, folding laundry, buying groceries, wiping snot off the little dude's face, I realized that a Mom's work is never done. Here I am in my late '20s, with a house, husband, and baby of my own and here's MY mom doing My work. With a smile on her face. Loving every minute spent with her granddaughter, (who also decided to catch a cold and spike a temp while I was glued to the recliner), cheerfully commenting on daytime TV, and maintaining my three ringing phones. Making my favorite comfort food, making from-scratch lemon muffins, and bringing me raspberry chapstick from the drugstore when she went to pickup my 5th prescription in as many days.

I know when I was in Mrs. Ojay's 2nd grade class, my poster that hung in the hallway said I wanted to be a Secretary when I grew up. No, that is not true anymore. What I want to be when I grow up is My Mom.