the bright life: people i love: mom

here's to wishing my mom a very happy birthday.

remember that little story from monday about cherry packing and my grandma?

well there's more.

there's another pretty lady who helped me get through that six weeks. my mom.

"at 8:30 each night, when we were sent home, i would walk back to my car, exhausted, and drive back to my grandparent's house."

let me rephrase that for this post.

at 8:30 each night, when we were sent home, i would walk back to my car, exhausted, and call my mom. i would sob to her as i drove back to my grandparent's house. and she listened. oh boy did she listen. she heard it all. and after three days of work, i told her "i'm thinking that maybe i'll come home after four weeks and try to find another job." and then she said something i'll never forget.

"let's not set any time limits yet."

what she meant was "i know you can make it the entire six weeks."

she knew. she knew when i didn't know. and she kept me there.

fast forward to that fall. i was a freshman in college in san diego, and being as i don't like change and i LOVE home, this was a bit of a hard adjustment.

i called her every night.

no exaggerations here, i can count on one hand the number of nights i didn't call her.

sometimes i cried, sometimes i didn't, but i always told her every detail about every day and guess what?

she listened.

and at the end of christmas break, the night before i flew back to san diego for my second semester, i started crying and told her i didn't want to go. i didn't think i could make it until may. and then she said something i'll never forget.

"would you rather stay here and go to portland state?"

[have you heard of reverse psychology?]

i straightened up a little, and thought about it.

what she meant was "i know you can make it until may."

and i did.

she knew. she knew when i didn't know. and she kept me there.