Mamas

In the South, we don't have moms, we usually have "Mamas."  Occasionally we have "mothers."  A "mama" is not just the person who gives birth to you and provides food and shelter, she is the adult who also "raises you," another wonderful Southern expression.  In other words, she nourishes you not just physically but mentally.  She ensures that you have a strong moral fiber to guide you.  Even though it is closer to Father's Day than Mother's Day, this post is about the mamas out there.

Why you may ask am I on the subject of these women who hold that very special title.  I guess it is because while wearing my nurse practitioner hat this last week, I got a little discouraged hearing about the women who carry the title but shouldn't.  It was one of those weeks that I wondered what is the world coming to... it was one story after another about some horrible thing that one woman had done to her child.  I even read a story on the news where a first grader became high after eating her lunch because her sandwich, packed by her mother, accidentily contained PCP or angel dust.  Now I can see how she might have forgotten to put mustard or mayo on the sandwich, but how do you send a child to school with angel dust on their sandwich?

However, my faith in mankind was renewed today by the mamas in my community.  I was sitting on the back pew at church... yes, I am a backrow-kinda-Christian... when one of my dad's cousins came into church.  She was a little late to the service, but after all some religion is better than no religion, right?  My dad's cousin is named Ms. Roma Lee.  She is older than my dad and has Parkinson's disease.  She is a really sweet lady and always has a smile on her face.  It was sad to see how her health is failing her.  She uses a rolling walker and also carries a cane.  Her speech is thick and difficult to understand.  Her feet often become tangled up and you worry that she will fall.  Yet, she is in church every Sunday.  So, she parked her walker behind and used her cane to walk around the pew.  One of her sons helped her maneuver to a seated position.  She patted his leg and leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

I sat there for a minute and thought about just how sweet that was.  Even with her poor health, she was still acting like a 'mama.'  As I looked at the pews ahead of me, throughout the congregation, I noticed women of many ages with their arms patting the knee or hugging the shoulders of a younger female beside them.  These 'mamas' from young to older were letting their children know just how special they are to them.  I doubt these women even thought about what they were doing because it is second nature to them.  They have always and will always provides subtle encouragement and signs of love to their offspring. 

These are the things that my own mama does for me daily.  My grandmother, or Mama Bell (see there goes the 'mama' title again) did those same things for me.  She was always there to mould me and shape me and encourage me.  She taught my mama to be the best mama in the world.  I am so very grateful to have and to have had these women in my life.