Life Outside the Cage

God blessed me with an amazing mother. Her footprints on my life are quite visible.


As I reflect on my childhood, a plethora of endearing memories surface:

• Playing games or listening to her read stories while traveling in the car during summer vacations
  

• Discovering Christmas presents weeks after December 25 as she uncovered their forgotten hiding place

• Sipping water from the little plastic cups she kept in her purse so we could sample the fresh springs we discovered in the mountains

Remembering the teenage years brings forth images of her:

Giving me permission to complete my homework while watching Charlie’s Angels and Eight is Enough

Helping me with peer pressure by allowing me to “blame my mom” when I didn’t want to do something

• Being my greatest cheerleader at basketball and softball games

• Experiencing New York City at Christmas with the Rockefeller Tree and Rockettes
  

• Working in my classroom each August to prepare for the new school year
  

• Cruising to the Caribbean for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary
  

Amid all the great flashes of fun and family, the resounding life lesson she taught that remains a part of me is: leave everything a little better than you found it.

This statement echoes through my mind every time I help a friend clean up after a party, clear my table at Taco Bueno, pick up a piece of trash blowing down my neighborhood street, or speak words of encouragement to others.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!! You made me better than you found me.