MAY 13, 2018 – I laughed when our Creative Coordinator Liz Biswell walked in last week wearing a tee that proudly proclaimed: Dog Mom. “Hey,” she deadpanned, “I’d say I’ve earned it!” It’s been two long months of TLC since her cat accidentally scratched her shih tzu’s cornea. “So scary, especially those first few days applying drops every two hours around the clock so Brownie wouldn’t lose his eye. After non-stop worrying, love and meds, not to mention $2,000 to the vet opthamologist, his vision is now thankfully fine.”
At 19 and already one of Cardthartic’s wisest, Liz acknowledged how much more challenging it must be to parent a small human in the world today. After voicing very real concerns and letting her thoughts turn to Mother’s Day, she kindly asked, “What was your mom like, Jodee?”
I thought a minute and then said that my mother was someone who would have loved her “Dog Mom” t-shirt, as she lived to laugh, and was always lobbying hard for more humorous designs from Cardthartic. “And,” I said, “because I admire how you handled Brownie’s mishap, Liz, I’d like to tell you how Mom dealt with one of mine …”
When I was nine, Dad built a playhouse for my younger sisters and me, and of course I could not wait until he was finished to sleep in it. Unrolling my sleeping bag at dusk, I thought, “Just what is a girl who loves reading in bed to do without electricity?!?” I looked up and saw ~ where the ceiling would soon be ~ just a ledge of 2×4 where the roof met the walls. Inspired, I ran to the driveway and found three good, hefty rocks. Back in the playhouse, I pulled the belt from my robe, tied one end around my trusty flashlight, and placed the other end up on the ledge where I secured it with the weight of the tiny boulders. Eager to test my innovation, I laid down face up, raised my book to read by the light of my new hanging lamp and, BAM, down it all came. Like Liz’s beloved Brownie, my eyes were spared, but gone were my two front teeth.
Calmly and patiently, Mom quieted my hysteria, patched both my face and ego, and assured me things would look better come morning. Not so, I thought by the light of day, seeing that big gap staring back at me as I brushed two less teeth. And, when she said her Good Morning, what was Mom holding but one of those dastardly rocks! As she handed it like a gift to me, I could see that, on its bottom, she’d glued a soft, moss-green felt. I turned the rock over and read what she’d penned with black magic marker: “Jodee’s Teeth.” Then I watched with pride as she placed it high on a shelf of honor, alongside the trophies my big brothers had won in sports and 4-H.
I listened closely and can still hear Mom to this day so respectfully explain that, “The more brilliant the idea, the more likely it will require careful planning and execution.” I might not have gotten it 100% right this time, she said, but I should keep using my imagination and pursuing my dreams without hesitation. “Where would we be if the inventor of the first hanging lamp had given up just because he or she hit a snag?” Mom asked me.
She’s been cheering me on from the great beyond for 13 years now, and every day I work on becoming a better mother to me. Today, I hope you have and are someone who reminds you there are no mistakes in life, only opportunity after opportunity. And someone who would do anything for you, as lovingly as Liz has for her Brownie. To caring moms everywhere, and the nurturing spirit in each of us, Happy Mother’s Day!
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