Mom

Over the course of a lifetime, one takes many trips. And, if you are like me, many of those trips were spent with your mother. Hauling you to ballgames, cheer practice, doctor's appointments and filling in when you missed the bus, mom was the appointed substitute chauffeur. Even if your mother merely held your hand as you experienced one of life's challenges, you were traveling together. I made hundreds of small trips with my mother. Remembering those trips prompted me to write about them because I wanted to seek answers to some of my own questions which have plagued me my whole life. I also wanted to put my own mother in a tangible form that would remain long after I am gone. And finally, I wrote for those of you who have one of "those" relationships with YOUR mother. The mother/daughter dynamic is interesting at best - frustratingly complex at times. My journey with my mom took me to a lot of diverse locations, some of them pleasing - some not. But in the end, the most important trip was the trip we took to her final destination. It is my hope that in telling you my story, you may learn something about the differences in driving the car, or enjoying the ride, or hanging on to the "oh crap" handles for dear life. Because, sometimes the vehicle is careening down a steep, dangerous and unknown roadway with the accelerator jammed to the floor. When this happens we are never prepared for the crash that is bound to happen at the end. My story is meant to neither demonize nor sanctify - I am merely trying to put a very real face on a very real problem that we all may someday face. I loved my mother very much and I hope she knew it. Still today I want - no, I crave to make her proud of me. I want you to know that it is okay to be frustrated, unsure, sad and even just downright angry sometimes. Personalities are complex and just because people share a gene pool doesn't necessarily mean they are in synch with each other at all times. But at the end of the day, I hope you will take away from my story how very important it is to make every moment count, we never know when we are experiencing the last one. (Excerpt from Trips I Took With Mother)