To Mom: My number one fan
Hopefully, you remembered Sunday, May 9 is Mother’s Day. This day, across the United States, mothers are treated to a day off from housework, Hallmark cards, flowers, and breakfast-in-bed. It is a shame that we only have one day set aside for Mom; after all, she is the one who had to carry us around for nine months. She is the one that made sure that we made it to our practices, tournaments, and all other activities. That is why I personally want to take time out to say thank you to my biggest sports fan-my mom, Kathy.
Kathy put up with a lot in our household. She was outnumbered two-to-one by my dad and me; therefore, the television and main topic of conversation at my house was devoted to sports. Instead of fighting our love for sports, she embraced it and found the pink jerseys to match.
One particular instance of Kathy’s motherly love comes to mind. The summer when I was 14 years old, I had a Little League Baseball game in the evening. In the morning, it had rained and made the field unplayable. She was about to leave for work, but saw that defeated look on my face because the game was going to be cancelled. Instead of leaving, she called into work and took the day off, citing a family emergency. Although she did not have to, Kathy made my happiness a priority that day. In fact, we called up my father, the coach of my team, and told him our plan of drying the field on our own. Then, my mom and I met a couple of my teammates at the field and proceeded to dig ditches to drain the accumulated rain. Later that night, we played the game as scheduled making all that work worth it.
My happiness and health continued to be Kathy’s number one priority. Even though my dad was a semi-professional athlete, as an only child, my mom played a very protective advisor as to which sports I was allowed to play. If I wanted to play football she would say, “Oh no. You will get hurt too easily.” A day later I would tell her that I wanted to play hockey; different sport, same response. This mentality, however, paid off my freshman year of high school. I was deciding whether to go out for the baseball or volleyball team. I asked my mom which sport she thought was best for me. Because my chances of getting hurt were less, she told me volleyball. Turned out (as usual) she was right; it has been almost ten years since my high school graduation, and I am still involved in volleyball to this day.
As you think of instances in your life where you and your passions have been made a priority, be sure to give your mom, wife, or even girlfriend a big hug and kiss. Tell them “thank you” and that you love them. Take them to dinner and get them some flowers. Heck, just do something to make them feel appreciated, because there is no one else that will put you (and your love for sports) before everything else.
Thank You Mom! I love you very much.
By TJ McAloon1 Response for “To Mom: My number one fan”
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Good thing she didn’t know what was going on in the UCW!