Mothers

Why is a person such as a mother so important on the life of a child? That is an excellent question considering that 9 times out of 10 they seem to be a problem. They get in the way of what you want to do and what you think you should do. They tell you things like clean your room and get your crap out of the living room or get your crap out of the middle of the floor. You do it but you are thinking "One of these days...I'm not sure but one of these days!" and that is as far as you ever get because no matter how old you get your mother can still beat you in a fight. No matter how big you may get and how small she may stay...you will lose.

I realize that we take mothers for granted. I think that traveling around Haiti has made me see that. You may say that I am wrong and that fathers are taken for granted and they are but that is not what I am talking about. Your mother is the one that cares for you and makes sure that you are up in the morning and throws a fit when your hair bow won't stay in your hair at the age of 3 and they blog about the fact that you now have a boyfriend (what do you mean your mother's never done that last one? That's not a normal thing??). She is also the one that makes sure you are fed at the right times and the one that makes sure you are continuing to eat once you leave for college. She is the one that has mini meltdowns when she can't talk to you for two months because your computer is broken. In Haiti I am not sure that mothers do any of that. They birth you and then form there I think that you might be on your own. There are a few that keep up with you for the rest of your life and try to do there best to raise you with what they have but the reality is that most of the mothers are single and there is no one else to take care of the kids so they are left at home alone or with a brother or sister while mom goes out to make money. Family is not a big deal in Haiti. You have relatives but not family like we think of it. We have sit down dinners and we talk and we all live together as a family. Not so much in Haiti. You mom and your sister may live here while you dad and your two brothers live there and then you live up over there. We all live together. Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters.

I don't think that I realized how much I took my mother for granted until she wasn't here last year for my birthday. That was the first time she hadn't been around for my birthday in 18 years. She had been there for every single one. I didn't get to talk to her for maybe more than five minutes, maybe. Its not that I didn't appreciate all that she did for me all the time it was just that I never realized how much I really loved my mother and how much I missed her and how much she really meant to me.

With my birthday being in 2 days I am without my mother again. And I swear if Skype messes up on Tuesday there are going to be some serious problems and I might have to punch something.

Happy Early Birthday to ME!!!