Monterey State Beach, Sand City, California

 

I’ve been thinking about my mother as we all have the last few days, and an old story flashed into my mind. When I was in my accident-prone phase, I built a ramp in the backyard out of a sawhorse and plywood and tried to Evel Knievel myself over it on my bike. I knocked myself out cold. My younger friend Greg ran into the house, “Robert’s sleeping in the backyard.” The next thing I remember, my mom was holding my head under the kitchen faucet, trying to bring me around. Man, motherhood’s a tough job.

I’m glad we have a day to honor our mothers. The first thing everyone thinks of is giving birth. That’s seemingly the big one, but I have to admit, the thought of spending nine months in someone’s belly makes me a little squeamish. But I love the idea of an infant mind, a mind before thoughts ….  

Giving birth and raising a child is the most creative thing anyone can do, bring a life into this world and nurture it. Wow. Our mothers are the ones who knew us before we became who we are. They know the truth and love us anyway. Our mother is our first ally, the one always on our side, baker of cookies and cakes, the family chef, doctor and nurse, substitute teacher, and housekeeper with fluff and fold laundry service. Maybe we should change it to Mother’s Month, the whole month of May.