My Mom's Garden of Eden

The other day, Judy A. was kind enough to comment on my Mom's gardens when she saw the photo of Ladybird's babies. My Mom didn't think they looked very nice in that photo so she sent me this shot over the weekend.

Isn't it spectacular? You'll get a better view if you click on the shot to enlarge it.

My Mom works day and night on her gardens and the only time she stops is when she throws out her back and is confined to her bed for a few days. Of course, the minute she feels better, she leaps out of bed and gets right back out to her garden to re-injure herself. Mom's driven. If there's a weed, she'll find it and rip it out by its nasty little roots. If there's a wall to be painted, she's up on the ladder with her paintbrush. And if there's a path to be built, she's down on her hands and knees laying stones.

You get the picture.

You know, I've been thinking lately of all the things my Mom did for me when I was a kid and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank her. Maybe some of you will think, "Yeah...my Mom did that, too."

So here goes...

Mom, thanks for:
1. Making me use proper grammar and correcting me if I said anything like, "Me and my friends..." I now know that Henry Higgins was right.
2. Making me sit up straight. I now see how awful it looks to be all slouched over.
3. Making me walk with proper posture. I am now thankful that I don't have a dowager's hump.
4. Making me go to the dentist. I still have teeth.
5. Making me to go bed early. I didn't look like Zombie kid and I'm still adamant about getting enough sleep.
6. Making me eat dinner at the table every night. I now know that when we listened to you and Ralph discuss Immanuel Velikovsky's theories, politics, economics, plate tectonics, religion, UFOs, Edgar Cayce, William F. Buckley, pollution and history we actually learned something.
7. Making me watch shows like The Smothers Brothers, The World Tomorrow, National Geographic Specials and Ed Sullivan. I now know that entertainment can be educational and education can be entertaining.
8. Making me go to the theater with you to see The Lion in Winter. It's still my favorite movie.
9. Making me watch Inherit the Wind on TV...even though it was a school night. I learned about the Scopes Monkey Trial, Clarence Darrow, Evolution, and what a magnificent actor Spencer Tracy was.
10. Making me laugh at things. Your funny fake letters to the imaginery psychiatrist, Dr. Bastedo, still make me chuckle. And Ralph's imitation of President Johnson was hysterical. I remember he'd entertain us with Presidential speeches in a thick Texan drawl, starting with, "I come to you with a heavy bladder." It still cracks me up.

The thing I'm most thankful for is that you forced your kids to think.

Over the years I've grown resentful of my pot belly, angry at my thighs, disappointed in my boobs, and annoyed by my aching feet. But -- crazy as it is -- I've always liked my brain.

Thanks for making sure that I used it.