Mitch Sneed at Large

Happy Mother’s Day.
It’s a bittersweet time for me. My Mom died nine years ago and even that length of time doesn’t make it easier.
There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about her, pick up the phone to call her or wish that I could tell her news, get a hug or just ask for her advice.
I know everyone says that their Mom is the greatest. My Mom was the kind that gave you unconditional love and would do anything for her kids.
She would sit up all night and make costumes for school plays and dress up days at school. She would make them from stuff she had saved, often sewing them by hand. Then she would make us breakfast, pack our lunches, get Dad off to work and if she ever slept, I never saw it.
One time I had a teacher that said she would give us extra credit is we strung six feet of popcorn for our class Christmas tree. She popped the corn and I strung it all and I really wanted it to look cool and asked if we could dye it. She mixed up food coloring and we gave it a try.
When we put the corn in the liquid, it fell apart.
It was already late and she just told me not to worry about it and to go to bed. I woke up three hours later to the smell of popcorn as she popped more and strung six more feet herself. That’s the way she was.
In first grade I made her a clay dish that was supposed to be an ashtray for Mother’s Day.  It was the ugliest thing I have ever seen , looking back at it now. But she kept that thing by her bed until the day she died, using it to hold change, jewelry that she had gathered throughout the day.
We had five kids and money was often short. She’d roll change so I would have money for field strips and extras. Sh e would sell extra boxes of candy to help pay for the registration for baseball leagues and extra things. She always put us first.
That’s what mothers do. That’s why we love them so and always will, long after they are gone.
I saw the coolest thing today at the Target in Culpeper. There was a man with four kids walking into the store. They looked to be dressed for church and when they passed a young woman holder her daughter’s hand leaving the store, the man said, “Happy Mother’s Day.”
I guess it made me realize that it isn’t only a time to thank our own mother, it’s a time to recognize all the women who do the world’s most important job.
So today I do celebrate. I celebrate my Mom’s memory and the gift of my children that were given to me by a wonderful lady.  My youngest daughter Jessica turns 21 today.  It seems like yesterday that she was born. Talk about the ultimate Mother’s Day duty.
Giving birth was just that.  I guess it’s appropriate that we celebrate a birthday and Mother’s Day at the same time.