Thank You, Mom

Mom, since I'll be out of town on Mother's Day I thought I'd send out an early blog post or two thanking you for being my wonderful, not-normal mother for all these years.

A couple of weeks ago my memory jogged and I told Melanie this story from my childhood. I got choked up at one point as I retold of your kindness to a stranger in need.

Growing up on military bases overseas gave us little opportunity to meet other less fortunate in health than ourselves. I very rarely met the mental handicapped. I pretty much only saw them walking in groups from far away or on television. To tell the truth, as a child who knew nothing about why these people seemed different than me left me quite scared of them. I think I was younger than Kaeley when one day my mom was driving us home from our little military base. It was a busy street, from what I can remember, and in the middle of the street was a mental handicapped young woman. She was alone, and just like a child, would wander in one direction until she would almost get hit by a car, at which point she would turn around and walk the other direction. My mother parked on the side of the street, carefully walked into the traffic, retrieved the young woman, and brought her into the car. The woman sat in the passenger seat. I was scared to death. The noises she made frightened me. The way her face looked frightened me. My mother, the only one I remember stopping to help this poor person, drove to the school where she guessed this woman was from and found a caregiver to pass her onto. The group of mental handicapped and caregivers were on the side walk looking for their missing charge and were glad to see her. I sat in the car as my mother told of what happened and the caregivers thanked her. The woman's friends crowded around the car and looked into the window. I was scared out of my mind! I just unaware. I was not in a very diverse environment. However, my mother left me with a beautiful legacy of generosity and kindness. She looked out for those who were in need and in distress.

There was another time she picked up a female hitchhiker who had lost her ride to the airport. This is another time I thought for sure I would be killed. Any time this woman made a move toward her suitcase I thought my time had come... here comes the gun! Whew. I made it out in one piece. I guess there's something to be said for my mother's discernment and discretion.

Thank you, Mom, for acting against the norm and helping the defenseless when you were given the chance. Thank you for keeping me safe. Thank you for pushing my comfort limits and in doing so teaching me compassion for those in need.