Mom - March 2020
It’s not an exaggeration to say that when I was a child my mother was everything to me. Everything. She fed me, kept me clean, and doctored me when I got hurt…which was just about every time I went outside. She taught me how to ride a bicycle, tie my shoes, feed the chickens, shoot a basketball, put on a tie, peel an apple… and countless other valuable lessons. She helped me with homework, told me to hush my mouth when I was being sassy…or spanked me from time to time when I was being a pain in the neck or not doing my homework or tormenting my sister. Tammy would say she didn’t spank me enough for that last part…and she’d probably be right. From time to time my mother was my only friend. Mother recognized pretty early that I was a lonely child. I spent a lot of time indoors watching television or reading comic books. I was restless, though, and not happy and there was no one around to play with. When elementary school started, I did not make close friends—no one I co