Its been a while since I posted. Many times as I have went through my days, ideas have come to my mind about something I should write about or expound upon. But as life all too often goes I either forget about it when I have time or the urge to put it onto paper so to speak is often overwhelmed by the urge to just veg out. This time I poured myself a cup of fresh brewed coffee and set myself in front of the screen and am forcing myself one word at time to put my thoughts down and even if no one ever reads my thoughts that materialize on these pages I have the satisfaction of at least trying to manifest the workings of my mind into a physical form that can be shared with others and hopefully inspire them or bring a little humor into their lives for even a brief moment.

So as I sit here in the predawn hours, sipping the aforementioned cup of coffee, while the rest of the house slumbers and hopefully dreams of pleasant things let us share in some thoughts. My inspiration for writing this is the holiday which we will be celebrating most likely the entire day today, Mothers Day. If you are reading this it means that you most likely have a Mother who carried you for nine months, spit you out into the world and then hopefully nurtured you and helped you grow into the person you are today. Now I know that some of you may not have had the same childhood as me with a loving and present Mother who encouraged you and wanted only what was the best for you, but even if you didn’t know your Mom or your circumstances growing up weren’t the most ideal you can be thankful that your Mom did choose to bring you into this world and give you a chance to become the person you are today.

Most people of my age, translation: Old, had Moms who were able to stay home and raise their kids. My childhood is full of memories of having breakfast ready for us every morning even when she may not have been feeling the best and always having clean clothes to wear and comfortable beds to sleep in. Growing up we weren’t poor but we weren’t rich either, but we never felt that we were ever shorted in life. Growing up with my two brothers produced many fond memories of playing outside, exploring woods, imagining fighting wars in far off places, exploring strange lands in trips through the woods and abandoned strip mine by our house. There were the weekday summer trips to my grandparents on my Moms side to play with my cousins and occasionally get into trouble. During the summer after doing our chores we would be allowed to roam the woods and strip mines around our house. We would be gone for hours at a time. This was before cell phones and 360 tracking. The only way Mom would know if we were still alive and hadn’t broken a leg or fallen to a watery death in a strip pit was if we showed up for lunch or snacks throughout the day.

My Mom, much like I am sure many others out there, was the glue that kept our family together and thriving. While my Dad was working to provide for us she was his representative at home while he was away. She helped mold me and my brothers, good or bad , into what we are today. Sure, she has quirks that we razz her about, like I’m sure every Mom out there does, overall she set an example for me to follow that I am very grateful for. While she had this strange obsession with dressing me and my brother like twins in our younger years even though we were fourteen months apart, I still have fond memories of the fried bologna sandwiches, seafood Saturday nights and milk soup that I will carry with me forever.

As me and my brothers grew up, got married and started our families Mom was right there cheering us on. One thing that was pointed out to me by my wife was how my Mom never spoke ill or was mean to her daughter in laws. She was always supportive and pleased with our choices.

In closing I want to give a shout to my beautiful wife who has kept me straight for over thirty years and has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to keep our family going. She has helped raise three wonderful, loving kids who are productive members of society and I am proud to call her my wife.

Happy Mothers Day to all you Moms!