And Then I Saw Mom

I meant to write this on Mother’s Day, but didn’t get to it. Finally found a moment to write it!

We all go through ups and downs with our parents and sometimes it seems like the roller coaster is a bit curvier with our parent of the same sex. e.g. girls have a tougher time with moms, boys have a tougher time with dads. My relationship with my mom wasn’t any different.

When I was 17-years-old, I was involved in a very bad car accident. I was riding with my grandmother as she was driving her little VW Beetle home from church on Sunday evening. She had stopped at an intersection and then pulled out in front an oncoming car. The car that hit us belonged to a policeman who was on his way to a call, and so he was driving very fast. He hit the front of our car, which made it spin around for what seemed like forever. When we finally stopped, my grandmother was knocked out. I thought she was dead and I started screaming – I was so scared. She eventually woke up, much to my relief, but she was wedged in the car and they had to get the “jaws of life” to get her out. It took a long time. During this time, someone had called my parents (this was way before cell phones were around, so I’m not sure who called). A lot of people stopped to watch; the wreck was at a well-traveled intersection. I kept looking around and finally, among all the people standing there, I saw my parents step through the crowd. I could not get to my mom fast enough. I was 17, but it didn’t matter. She held me so tight; I knew everything would be okay then.

I can’t say that we never had another argument or that things were gloriously wonderful forevermore between us – but for that instant, I needed my mom and she was there for me. She has been there for me many, many times since then. Thanks, Mom.