幸せな母の日 (Happy Mother's Day)
Today is May 8th, 2011. For millions (billions?) of people around the world, that means it's Mother's Day. A day where you call up your mom, tell her you love her, send her some flowers, or take her out to a fancy restaurant and let her know how much she's appreciated. Not for me, though. Ten years ago my mom battled breast cancer, and after a valiant fight she ultimately lost. Today would have been her 58th birthday.
It's not a subject I talk about often (almost never would be more accurate), but I think about my mom every single day. She was really my best friend. My dad was a train operator (driver) and worked extremely long hours on a regular basis. As a result, I spent the vast majority of my time with my mom. She'd whip up pancakes and sausage almost every morning before taking me to school. In the evenings she'd pick me up and either whip up some really good dinner or hook it up with chicken nuggets and french fries from Roy Rogers (remember that place?) or McDonald's. When I wasn't kicking it with my friends on the weekends, I'd usually be with my mom chillin' with her at work (the family beauty salon) or bored to death at a mall while she took her sweet time strolling around Hecht's (aka Macy's). Even though I loathed shopping with her, I wish I had that option now.
She really was an amazing woman, able to effortlessly comfort people with a hug or her soothing words one moment while inspiring people the next. While it might seem like I'm always hanging out with a gang of people, having the time of my life, and doing all these amazingly fun things, that most definitely wasn't always the case. There was a good long while where I had zero friends, everyone made fun of me for one reason or another (not being "black enough" was a big one), and I was constantly depressed. If it wasn't for my mom doing her best to cheer me up everyday and make me feel ultra special, I probably wouldn't be around myself. She gave me the strength to carry on. I just wish she'd been able to see the kind of person I'd grown up to be thanks in large part to her guidance.
If there's anything I've learned from my mom and her early death it's this: be kind and cherish the people closest to you. Everything you say and do really does have consequences, whether they be good or bad. You might not think much of your actions, but to someone else the mean the world. A simple compliment could go a long way in boosting someones confidence. A warm embrace could do wonders for a persons well being. Listening to people; making them feel valuable...all that stuff is important. And our time on Earth is so short, some people's time being shorter than others. Really appreciate the people around you. You never know when you'll wake up one morning and find that they're gone...forever.