When you lose a parent, no matter the age, there are times of the year that are harder than others. For me, Mother’s Day is one of those. 

We lost my mom in June of 2021; just a month after Mother’s Day. That year there were no flowers or Mother’s Day cookouts for mom, like most years. No, I was laying in a hospital bed with oxygen strapped to me, battling COVID. My father was also in a hospital; he was on a ventilator. Unbeknownst to me, my mom was too. 

Just a couple of weeks before Mother’s Day was the last time I ever spoke to my mom. She was already in the hospital, just like me, but she called me to check on me. She was struggling for air herself but she just wanted to make sure I was okay. That’s just who she was. 

She was probably the healthiest of all of us. She had lost maybe 60 pounds over the previous year and other than a heart murmur she had since she was a child, she was pretty healthy. She never drank; she had never smoked a cigarette her entire life. So, I thought she was going to be just fine. In fact, I even told her that. “Everything is going to be alright” is what I told her before she told me she loved me and needed to rest. 

In the weeks that followed I was in and out of even knowing where I was, but I did text her a few times to no response. I wasn’t exactly in my right mind, but it did come off as weird to me. Finally, a couple of weeks after I was home and was starting to sort of come around, my wife told me the news she was dreading telling me. Mom was on a ventilator, and it wasn’t looking good. 

After she passed, there were some times of the year that were harder than others. Christmas was especially hard because that was her favorite holiday. Thanksgiving wasn’t too fun either, and Mother’s Day really sucked. 

A couple years out, though, Mother’s Day isn’t quite as bad. They say time heals all wounds, but that’s not true. The wound is still there but we learn to live with the pain, and the way I’ve learned to live with it is appreciating moms like mine. 

I’ve said for years the two best people that I’ve ever met in my life are my wife and my mom. Jennice Boutwell was a special education teacher of nearly 40 years. She dedicated her entire life to taking care of children, some of whom were severely disabled. She loved them like they were one of her very own. She loved my half-sister, not her biological daughter, like her own flesh and blood. She loved my cousins like they were hers. She even loved my degenerate friends just like they were me. 

As special as my mom was, she’s not unique in that sense, though. There are amazing moms all over this world and that is a comforting thought in the really tough times we’re living in. I don’t have a mom anymore but my wife has one, and she’s also amazing. She’s also treated me like I was one of her own since the first time I met her. In some of our darkest moments – my mom’s passing being a prime example – Vicky Hussey was right there, just like my mom always was. She’s been there ever since, too.

So, this Mother’s Day if you have a mom, cherish her, celebrate her. If you don’t anymore, it’s okay to celebrate other moms; maybe an in-law who has taken you in or even a family member that treated you like one of her own. Heck, even if it’s just a mom you know who’s pretty great at that very special job, let her know.