Happy Mom's Day!

This weekend we celebrate mom.  I have a lot to be thankful for from my mom.  It is amazing how things stick with you.  My mom left an invaluable impression in my life in several ways.  I was born in 1964, and so my childhood was filled with the Vietnam war.  My mom got a bracelet to honor a prisoner of war, and she wore it everyday until the war ended and the prisoners came home.  My mom also instilled in me the importance of voting, but she cherished and kept to herself the reasons or the people for whom  she voted.  Because of her influence, I have voted in every single election since I turned 18 years old.

My mom also taught me an invaluable lesson about discrimination.  Considering the time frame of when I grew up, I had no clue that people were treated differently based on the color of their skin until I was 13 years old.  I remember the moment, because I wanted a friend who was black to spend the night with me.  The problem was we were staying at my grandparents house, and my mom reluctantly told me that my grandmother would not allow her to spend the night with me.  I asked why?  And she told me.  That was the very first time I had any idea that people were treated differently because of their race.  For that, I credit my mom.

My mom also undertook the task of taking in a two-year-old and a nine-month-old baby that were my sister's children.  My sister was incapable of taking care of them, yet she fought tooth and nail to take them away from my mother.  Those girls were with me and Joe when my sister died.  They were five and six years old, and my mother raised them as her own.  Lord knows, she's not perfect -- and she will tell you that.  But she did her best, with us and with them.  Her two living children have pretty good stories.  We both did good in school, and we love sports and life.  We both married our high school sweethearts and have by most standards successful marriages and careers.

Surely, my mom deserves credit for that.  I love her, and I want to wish her happy mom's day.  I also have to give the same love to my mother-in-law.  The first time I met her she was with her twin sister.  Now that's scary.  One of the first things out of her mouth was, "you are full of shit, Joe Thompson."  You've got to love somebody like that.  She is a mom's mom.  Everybody calls her granny and she is the ultimate Granny.  She has endured two separate bouts with cancer, and her spirit and attitude is amazing and inspiring.  I love her so much, and I think she might love me more than she does Joe.  Not really, but pretty close.  I love you Granny too.

Happy Mom's Day to my two moms.  I love you both.