Most may never know that my thoughts are initially negative with any situation. I'm attracted to the worse case scenarios when deliberating issues and oftentimes I'm stubborn to change my point of view. My temper isn't the best...in fact, I have a horrible temper--one that takes me from zero to a thousand in less than three seconds! Sure, I may not always say the right things. Some have even said that I'm rude (picture that...me? rude? Ha!). But if you know me, you know that I say what I mean and I mean what I say. So, most times, when I open my mouth, my mom comes out.
As a young man, I recognized that I was Blessed with the gift of observation. I watched the world around me and learned quickly what to do and what not to do from others. I still do this today. There are also times where I will throw caution to the wind, roll the dice, and let the chips fall where they may. I enjoy this reckless behavior...because it's all calculated. I grew up with an affinity with numbers and math. My dad always said that my mom was a wiz with numbers and that was all the encouragement I needed. But, I turned out to be an English teacher, so figure that one out. I teach with passion and I tie my experiences into the examples I give my kids to help relate the lessons to real life. Most can't believe what I've experienced, but it seems to work with my students. And when I'm in class, getting those kids ready to learn and I open my mouth, I know my mom comes out.
My sister and I are very close. Life's circumstances allowed God's plan to work wonders on us, as we have always been each other's best friends (I think...I mean she's mine so...wouldn't I be hers?). But just because we are best friends, doesn't mean we have always gotten along. There were arguments, fights, scratches on my face that left scars for weeks and kids at school teased me that I was attacked by a bear because we lived in the country (Sherif, bka Button - Chester High Class of '95 had lots of jokes), bullying, brainwashing, mind games and all the love siblings could share (Sarcasm is a gift). There were also times when we were all we had, looking out for each other, being strong for each other, loving each other and most importantly, teaching each other how to be strong. Within most of these times, when we opened our mouths, our mom would come out.
As I grew older and began to put some pieces together in my life that had been broken, either by my own accord or by the choices of others, I would think back to my mother singing in the choir. I would think of her praying and I would think of not only how she cared for me, but for some reason, I'd think about the mistakes she had admitted she made. I would look then, and I continue to look now, at how she navigated through her adversities. I look to those moments to find strength, courage and a little extra push to carry on. I look at how she grew in her Faith and how she uses her gifts to help others. And when I think on these things, I know that she is Blessed and I know that my family is Blessed to have her in our lives. So, today, when I open my mouth, it feels good to know that my mom comes out.
