Mother

A quick post before an evening of studying. The sun is holding onto its lofty perch over the jagged jaws of a the tree line in the sky as I write, quite a fantastic site. I wanted to write to honor a woman. A woman who has love me and has been a near friend. She is a fun girl and is not ashamed to dye the sprinkles of gray out of her hair to chase away the creeping later years of life. This morning as I drove up to our house she was on her hands and knees in the dirt (she doesn't mind getting dirty) and look up just in time to give me a funny look. "Oh my! I am always out here long than I plan." She had substitute taught music for 4 period to classes of 1st and 2nd graders, and she was full of stories as she hurriedly put her tools away and wiped the weedy mud off her hands. One thing that I love about my mother is her creativity. What would you do if you taught music to a group of kids that you had no familiarity with? Well, for starters she had them do rhythm exercises with drum sticks, and then scarf dancing while she played the piano (when the music stopped they had to drop down and cover themselves like a caterpillar in a cocoon). The final period she hosted the schools three-person strong xylophone club. So what then? Watch? Surely not! She learned one of the songs and played a duet with one of the girls.

Her faithful life has made mother's day easy for me. It is a joy to be her son and share these short days at home with her. This evening as she cooked I read her the first chapters of "Shadow of the Almighty." I think even that is evidence of her passion. When asked several weeks ago what she wanted to have passed onto all of her children she replied, "an abiding love for God and an enjoyment of books, music, and nature." My life is indelibly marked by her faithfulness.