Family

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Many years ago, I read this book titled, Running with Sissors. This weekend, I watched the movie. It's really a rather sad story about dysfunction, psychosis, and a host of other psychological disorders. I related powerfully to this story in my teens.

There is this one part of the story, where the young man's mother's lover tells him that if he is looking for someone to make him Hamburger Helper, he needed to find another mother. And ultimately, he did. And the mother found him as well. But, I'm not going to give away the story; you'll have to read it for yourself, or rent the movie.

That particular line however, spoke VOLUMES to me Saturday night. Hamburger Helper. Ugh. I mean really. . .ground beef, overprocessed noodles, and a smattering of spices. And, that's considered dinner. It shouldn't be, right? Dinner is the meal prepared with love, with concern, with thought. Hamburger Helper is something you shake into a pan out of a box. And yet, it became a demonstration of love.

Mothers love you enough to make dinner each night of the week, with Happy Meal's being the exception here and there. The home of my childhood - my grandmother prepared wonderful meals for us, and going out to the local Dairy Queen was quite a treat and one that happened rarely. Living in Augusta in my youth, I was introduced to frozen pizza, carry out, meals that came in greasy bags. Eating dinner at home, around a table was a rarity.No one made Hamburger Helper for me. We never went hungy those years, but there were other things more important than cooking on my mothers mind.

I came up with this list of things that I think mothers are supposed to do. And I realized how fortunate I've been really. God has sent me mothers over the years. They've borne different names, certainly. I've called none of them "Mom" but they've most definately mothered. They know who they are. This was their version of making me Hamburger Helper.

Mothers-
-remind you to tie your shoes when they've come undone
-muss your hair just b/c they can
-don't let go even when you're done hugging
-wipe away your tears with a kleenex
-hold your hand when you're trying something new, even if you're grown up
-tell you how beautiful your children are, even when they are little horrors
-kiss you; especially on your forehead
-remind you to buckle up, even when you're an adult
-have eyes that see more good than bad

To all the women who are mothers - thank you.

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