Day Eight of 365 Days of Silver ~~ I Am Grateful for My Mother

There are no words to describe how grateful I am for my mother. She and I don’t always see eye to eye. We don’t agree on everything. We don’t see God in the same way.

But oh, my mother! What an amazing and wonderful woman. She raised me and gave me a moral foundation that has served me all my life. I am the loving and kind man I am today because of her.

I don’t think it’s possible that there is a less selfish person in the world. She has always put me and my brother first–and she still does. We never lacked for anything. I grew up thinking we were rich. I had no idea that wasn’t really the case.

She taught me to love God. She taught me to love books. She encouraged my interests. When I became obsessed with dinosaurs, we went fossil hunting and she bought me book after book on the subject. Once, when my school library was asking for donations of books, she bought one on dinosaurs and it was donated in my name.

My mother was magic (and still is). Every year we had cakes that she made and wow, were they beautiful. She designed them and made them unique for whatever we were crazy about that year. I had a Jaws cake and a Towering Inferno cake and so many more. She made our Halloween costumes and they were far better than those cheap (and expensive) things that could be bought at K-Mart. A mouse, Robin the Boy Wonder, Batman, and so many others. One year, I was probably a freshman in high school, she made me several dozen tribbles (at least).

My father was in the Marines and we got transferred a lot. I never grew up in one place with lifelong childhood friends. And when we moved from California to Georgia or Georgia back to California and other moves along the way, my mom insisted we take the scenic routes. That means I’ve seen things no other kid was seeing. The Grand Tetons, Mount Rushmore, Flintstone Village, the Petrified Forest, the Redwoods Forest, The Grand Canyon…. The list goes on.

There were many ways that she transformed my life. But one of the ones that was most important happened when I was in high school. I got pretty opinionated, which is pretty normal for that age. But mom said something to me. “Do you have that opinion because it is your idea, or someone else’s?” And then she gave me some of the most important advice of my life.

Don’t believe everything you read or hear. Check up on it. Research it. If someone is saying something on TV or an article, don’t think it has to be true. Research. See if someone else is saying the same thing. What are their credentials? Should you believe them?

Thank goodness for that. I am so grateful for that. It saved me a world of grief and a world of being duped. I still got taken in a few times, especially by my ex. But it sure made sure that I research my books and my writing so that I know they’re accurate.

Every year for Christmas she made sure that we got at least one big thing that we had our hearts set on. One that shines out for me was a Hot Wheels train set. It was very futuristic and since I loved all things science fiction, I desperately wanted it. I not only got it, but over the next few years I got all kinds of stuff to go with it so I had a whole little town on a big piece of plywood that I kept under the bed.

My mother gives, gives, gives, gives. I don’t know how she gives so much. She helps everyone. She volunteers her time to so many organizations.

She filled my life with wonder, and continues to do so.

I think of my mother and I think…love. She taught me love. She taught me how to love.

I am so grateful for my mother. Mom? Thank you for being my Mom!

Namasté,
B.G. Thomas