Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

I want to thank everyone so much for all the kind words and thoughts regarding my mom. Everything went very well, she is home now and only slightly loopy on pain pills. The doctor repaired a partial ligament tear and he feels she will recover full use of her arm within a few months.

My mom is a very tough broad. She is strong willed and fearless, tenacious and honorable. If I had to find one fatal flaw in her it would be the fact that she is very forgiving of imperfections in others yet completely incapable of accepting them in herself.

I remember sitting on my mom's lap when I was six years old, noticing for the first time the grey hairs that had started to pepper her brown curls. I knew my parents were older than the parents of most my contemporaries and to me grey hairs were a sure sign of impending death. I spent the next few weeks with a very large lump of fear in my chest. Mom could tell I was out of sorts, and she finally coaxed me into telling her what had caused my anxiety. She kissed me and gave a good humored laugh then sat down and drew a simple time line on a plain white sheet of paper. She told me that she would probably live to be about 80 years old and that she was just a little over half way there. She assured me that barring any unseen event she would be around for a good long time. I went to sleep that night with a much easier heart.

It was so difficult sitting next to my mom's hospital bed Thursday afternoon, looking at her pale skin and waiting for each breath. I knew on an intellectual level that she would be fine but on an emotional level I felt like that same six year old who had just discovered those grey hairs.

Her hair is completely grey now and her hearing isn't nearly as sharp, she suffers from normal old-age forgetfulness and her reflexes have slowed. However, she is still strong willed and fearless, tenacious and honorable. I can only hope that if I am lucky enough to reach her age I too will have the same traits. I found my first grey hair a couple of months ago, I guess I still have a ways to go and a lot to learn.