日本語版・Japanese Version

I close my eyes.

In honor of Mom, I remember.

I remember…

…when you taught me how to make scrambled eggs. What a revelation!

I remember…

…you worried I was eating too many scrambled eggs.

I remember…

…seeing where you came from–the home you left so that you could give me a better life than you had.

…you homeschooled me.

…you took me to piano lessons.

…you took me to the beach to study and take tests.

…you taught me phonics on a small table and chair.

…you made me memorize the spelling of big lists of words.

…you sat with me and helped me catch up on school work when I got behind.

…I went to college and did just fine.

I remember…

…hiding something behind my back. You and Lydia were looking for it. I laughed when I showed it to you.

I remember…

…you didn’t laugh.

I remember…

…making pizza with you for the first time.

…walking into the kitchen at night, in the dark, and finding you cooking.

…watching you exercise with Richard Simmons. You invited me to join you, but I wasn’t interested.

…you supported my diet choices even when it was difficult to do so.

I remember…

…you took me and Lydia to the toy store and bought us toy cars.

…all the stuffed animals you won for me with the crane game at the grocery store.

…you always used to help me watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on tape.

…all the video games you rented for me.

…when you came home with Super Mario Bros 3.

…that’s the same house where you caught me peeing in a glass.

…all the Lego you bought me and watched me build.

…getting angry when you wouldn’t buy me a cool PC game controller for my birthday.

…that was the same day you and Papa surprised me with a Nintendo 64 and four controllers.

…that you waited in many different lines for weeks to get a Wii. We played lots of Wii Bowling.

…you took me to get my finger measurements for my custom bowling ball.

…all the game nights playing board games and card games together.

I remember…

…when you protected me from mosquitoes while I was on the toilet.

…how we always use to sleep out in the living room, you in one couch and I in the other. We always watched Star Trek.

…holding your forehead when you had a headache.

…curling your hair in my fingers.

…how you smiled when you saw my first chin hairs.

…how you cried when we had to say goodbye at the airport.

Today, I remember all that you did for me.

But the most important thing of all,

the one thing I’ll always remember,

is your unconditional love for me.

That unconditional love is a great burden, you know?

With a mother’s love, she passes on all her hopes and dreams to her son.

Who is this boy? What will he be? Where will he go? What will he do? What power can I unlock in him, if only I love him more?

What heavier, sweeter, or more terrifying burden can a son bare?

In honor of Mom, I bare it gladly.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Love,

Micah