I recently saw a picture of a mother dog saving her puppies from a house fire. She carried each puppy out and deposited them in the side box of a fire truck that was on scene. The unconditional love of a mother is something that is priceless. The sacrifice and pain that a mother goes through for her children is so powerful.
I miss mom all the time, but the spring is a tough time for me. I can still see her going out in her yard and cleaning up winter debris. It seemed that she helped awaken the world from winter’s long nap. She couldn’t wait to get into the woods to dig the first ramps of the season. I remember her going to the mountain and digging through the last snows of the season to find the first hint of the stinky little things.
She never ate them, but I wish I had a nickel for every bushel she ever dug, always giving them away. She supplied my sisters and their husbands, Gran, after she couldn’t dig them for herself, and anyone else that had a hankering. Along with her, I never have eaten any either, but I loved going to the woods with her.
We would dig, sometimes for an hour, without talking and other times we chatted the whole time. It was never about anything important, just stuff. We always took peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat so when we stopped we would discuss everything from the hawk flying overhead to the state of the world.
Nothing was off limits between us, we talked about everything. I miss her strength and will power. It was as if she could conquer anything she set her mind to. I can’t seem to wrap my mind around the fact that it has been 13 ½ years since she passed away. I still expect to get a call from her saying, “Get your ramp hoe, we are going to the mountain.”
She went to “The Mountain” and I cannot go yet. I will see her again someday and we will have another of our lengthy discussions about whatever subject comes up. I can hear one of her favorite quotes now, Momma Said, “What have you been up to kid?”