Happy (belated) Birthday greetings to my mom, who turned ?? yesterday. Parents are a wonderful thing. The bond that is formed between parent and child is pretty incredible. I am thankful that I was the only son in our family. I can't ever remember wishing for a brother. I found ways to have fun alone growing up when there weren't friends around -- like kicking a soccer ball against a wall. That kinda stuff is pretty good at increasing reaction skills. I played many a championship football game -- complete with in-head play-by-play announcing -- in the back yard. Bird feeders, trees, and that crossbar target as completed passes. What must've looked the funniest would have been any scrambles or runs I would have made with imaginary tacklers. Hopefully, no one ever saw me. Perhaps my mom did through a window.
The bond between mother and son is warm. My mom has been great at comfort, support, love and even conversation. I'll probably always remember a time in a remote bus station where I was hungry and fussing for some breakfast. She ordered me up some cinnamon toast that, while not exactly made the way she did it, came with perfect timing. One time she tricked me for a birthday surprise. This was after I'd started Heaven's Metal Magazine back in the day. It wasn't my first adult birthday spent away from home, but it became a special one. She had supposedly equipped a neighbor who was coming to Austin with a birthday cake, and I was asked to pick it up. This was way before 9/11 and I was allowed to wait at the gate. Instead of our neighbor out walks my mom. That was a fun visit. Another time I had a girlfriend come by the house to meet her (for the first time, I believe) and a UPS note was posted on the door for the second day in a row. I had ordered some great new Kryptonics (blue) skateboard wheels (double conical ones, bud) and she had been away from the house upon the previous delivery attempt. I had asked her if she was going to be around the next day to get the package. She had told me she would, but there was the "failed delivery attempt" note posted on the front door again. Before I even introduced my girlfriend to her, I think, I protested in childish disappointment. When I walked into my room, there was the package sitting on my bed. She was messing with me! My girlfriend got a kick out of that.
When I was in Uganda, I noticed that they really didn't throw around the words "mother" and "father" very much. They used the label "caregiver." I think this is partly due to political correctness, but primarily due to the endemic of AIDS deaths that have left so many children orphans. That's a painful reality. I remember asking questions at one mother's home that we visited. I was trying to learn more about her and her home life, so I asked questions about "what kind of games do you play with your children?" and "What kind of stories do you tell them?" The Compassion workers, who would need to translate my questions, also offered that many parents here don't interact with their children like we see in the West. There's not bedtime fairy tales, for instance. One worker lamented that this is something they'd like to see change in Uganda. They were hopeful that it was changing. At another house we visited, with cute little Doreen, we saw a tiny baby that was really well developed. My wife, who is a nurse that specialized in children, noted that this little girl was holding her head and neck up right, was bright, very attentive. She would have scored high in the baby categories that doctors and nurses measure for normal growth, etc.
For a surprise gift for my mom yesterday, I donated $30 to Compassion International, who have a Malaria Intervention Fund that offers access to medical treatment for those struggling with the disease (Uganda's number 1 killer), prevention education and 3 mosquito nets for their sleeping quarters. It's not a set of great skateboard wheels, but it'll provide life-saving protection and help. I'm glad they have practical things like that available.
YOUR MOTHER THANKS YOU!! YOU ARE----WITHOUT A DOUBT---MY VERY FAVORITE SON!!
LOVE--MOM