Gone

During a conversation today, I was reminded of one of the many posts that I write, but fail to finish and post. I figure it needs to be posted anyway...

I've posted about my pa... pics, some stories, some clues for you to figure out the obvious: I think the world of him. While I've posted about my ma a couple of times, it's been nothing like my postings about my dad. Hardly seems fair...

It's not like I don't love my ma. Not at all. The cold truth is that she's still here. We tend to forget to mention how much folks mean to us until they're gone. 'Leastways, I do. I can be rather piss poor about doing so.

Ma raised four young kids all by herself. At first, there was a farm to run, too, but she handled it. I personally think she did a kickass job with raising us, and I know I've mentioned it before, but many of our friends' parents thought so, too. We weren't angels, but we were decent kids... and not phonies.

One of the things I loved about my ma is that she never thought, "Oh, my kids wouldn't do that." Even if we wouldn't. We got talked to, and she decided if we were up to something or not. Hell... we didn't lie to her too often. It's much better to keep one's backside where it belongs, and not wrapped up around one's ears.

We didn't have much, at times, eating plenty of rice as filler and desserts. She stretched what we had to last through some very tough times, all the while, never letting us know how bad shit was. And while things have only recently gotten better for her, she was always quick to offer help, physical and fiscal, if we ever needed it. We didn't even need to ask, and she was there.

This move to Fresno hasn't set well with her. She's happy for me, while wishing that I'd have stayed near to home. Cool thing is, she came out here with me on both trips... the scouting for apartments, and the final move. We had a pretty decent time. Cut that... we had a hell of a good time. Ma even drank with me, this past Saturday. That's something that you won't see very often.

We went out to Target this past weekend, and she was all in her element; "Oh, you'll need this, and you should have one of these... and you'll definitely need some of these." She hooked me up with plenty of gear, and I could tell that she was glad to do it. A mom thing, I guess.

Anyways, she and my aunt just left here, heading back to their hotel. Tomorrow, while I'm starting my new job, they'll be heading back home. Before they left here, I got a big hug from them both... Ma hanging on for quite awhile. As she backed away, she wouldn't look at me, and I knew she was crying. She finally managed a half turn as she walked out the door, and let me know that she'd be back out.

Funny, but I don't remember swallowing that rock that seems to be stuck in my throat...

Posted by That 1 Guy at September 14, 2007 08:37 PM | TrackBack