Mother's Day

Something I've wanted to do since some time last week is write a Mother's Day blog. For my own mother, I don't know what I can give her. I don't have a lot of money and I don't know what she wants. However, I feel that God blessed me as a writer, and I thought maybe there's a way for me to use my writing skills to wish her a happy Mother's Day. But then I was thinking a little more. And I thought that I shouldn't just write about my own mother, but a happy Mother's Day to all mothers. So I'm gonna kind of wing this and see how it all goes.

It is crazy how much we can take mothers for granted. They brought us in to the world. Do you think they enjoyed going in to labor and having us live in their stomachs for nine months? It's enough that they experienced the labor of child birth. But they didn't stop there.

Our mothers have done so much for all of us. So often we can forget how much we love our mothers because of one little thing that happens. Maybe your mom doesn't let you go to a concert, or wants you home by a certain time and you have gotten mad at her. Sometimes we often let the little things overlook the big picture. You might think your mom is mad at you or hates your or whatever, but really she does that to take care of you and protect you. It's all because she cares. And when she disciplines you, and you don't think it is fair or whatever, it's again because she loves you. She wants to put the right discipline in your life so that you work harder and treat others the way you should or whatever it may be.

Like I said before, so often we let the little things overlook the big picture. My mom has done so much for me. She basically made my lunch for me every day during the school year for twelve years. She keeps the house clean, works, and does whatever we need her to, and then she still cooks dinner for us at home. Whenever I screwed something up at school or couldn't get my work, she would always be the first to offer me a helping hand. And when it came to sports, she would drive me wherever I needed to be. Unless my brother had a game at the same time as me, I could count on my mom sitting there. Sitting there during a two hour long little league game that drags on forever. I've umped those games. They're brutal. Kids haven't developed a lot of skills in second or third grade, and pitchers are walking kids nonstop. If a ball is hit in play, rarely is it going to be an out, unless a kid doesn't listen to his coach and keeps running. Yeah, my mom was there during those boring little league games. And let's not forget how cold it could be. Something we all have been reminded recently is how unpredictable Chicago spring's are. It could be freezing, and she would still be there. And that wasn't the only sport I played.

Even when I was in high school, my mom would be offering me help. A lot of the time I declined because of my ego, thinking I could do it all on my own. But my mom was willing to help me however she could. And when I went off to college and was miserable, she allowed me to come back and still live at home. There have been so many times where I've screwed stuff up, and my mom has forgiven me. I don't know how any mother could put up with me. How bad of a student I've been and how lazy I can be. Mom, I'm sorry for disappointing you. I know that often times, it seems like I don't care, but I do. I know you are reading this, and I love you and I am thankful for you.

Yesterday for Mother's Day, we did stuff with my grandmothers, but I loved the way the day concluded. We all watched the Survivor finale together as a family. This was really meaningful to me. In the summer of 2000, my mom made a rule for us kids. We were going to spend an entire summer without any television or computer games. "Screen time" as we called it. This allowed us to spend the summer playing pickup baseball with the neighborhood kids and doing other fun stuff. Setting up slip 'n slides, going to the beach and pool a lot, etc. That was an amazing summer because we spent so much time outside. But anyway, we weren't allowed to watch any TV except for Cubs' games, and if our parents were watching something in the living room. So that summer, the phenomenon that was Survivor came on the air. One way one of my favorite Survivor players ever and one of the biggest influences on my writing (he hosts a reality TV podcast), Rob Cesternino describes Survivor's fans sums it all up about perfectly. He says the beginning, the show was like The Beatles. It was huge. Everyone watched it. You could go up to anyone on the street and say "The tribe has spoken." and they would know exactly what you were talking about. 50 million people watched the finale of the first season. Over time, a lot of people faded away from watching the show. But the core people that still watch the show are like fans of The Grateful Dead. While there aren't as many big fans of The Grateful Dead in comparison to The Beatles, the people that do watch the show are seriously passionate about the show. They love it.

So anyway, Survivor came on in the summer of 2000, and everyone watched Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET. Someone told my mom about the show. In this summer where we weren't watching TV, the only show we could watch was Survivor. And we fell in love with it. We never faded away from it. We've been watching the show for thirteen years. Survivor was a piece of my childhood. And it still is important to our family. We're still watching it together. So last night, being able to watch the end of the 26th season together on Mother's Day, was kind of special. And the winner was someone just like us. John Cochran won, someone who is a super-fan of the show that has written essays on the show at Harvard. Survivor was also a big part of his childhood. I don't know if there could have been a better way to close out Mother's Day 2013.

So that's enough of me rambling on about a show a lot of you don't watch. But think about all the little things. Think about the little things you share with your mom. Don't focus on the little things where you fight or whatever, think about the little things she has done to bless you.

Something I loved seeing on Facebook yesterday were statuses such as, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom! You're the best mom ever! I Love you!" Everyone thinks they have the best mom ever. And I'm not going to try to make an argument for my mom as the best ever. You can't convince anyone that your mom is the best ever. But it's great that in their eyes, they have the best mom, which I can say about my mom. Something else I thought about though are the great other moms out there. Like the moms that gave me a ride to soccer practice the week my mom couldn't. Or the moms that bought snacks or food for our team after a long game in the cold. There are a lot of other great mothers out there, and I am grateful for them too.

In this article, I am not saying that every mom out there is great. There are some bad parents in the world, and if you have had one of them, I am greatly sorry. Also, if your mother has passed, I grieve for you.

But anyway, that should just about wrap up this blog. I hope you all had a good mother's day with your mom. Or if you are a mom, I hope your kids and husband made it special for you. Thank you to all you moms out there for being there for us all. Thank you Mom. I love you.