Mother's Day
by S.R. Adams

I've been told that as you go through life as a woman, you run the risk of turning into your mother. Depending on how you look at this, it can be a good thing, or a bad thing. As I sit and reflect, I can see how this phenomena is happening to me.

I have not been the master of my own business, like my mother, but in the course of my Air Force career I have been just as unconventional, doing things women just don't do. My mother was one of the first working moms in the 1970s when it just wasn't the "done" thing where we lived. I chose to continue my career after my child was born; it seemed like the natural thing to do. I grew my hair very long, and cut it short when I reached a certain age. I found myself buying my first flannel gown with pockets and a hood at about the same time. I have traveled with my children, taking them places they might never have gotten the chance to go on their own. I have tried to show my children the wonders of nature-I'm not as good with the birds as my mother, but we press on anyway, with Audubon to guide us.

This morning, however, I realized with a surprise that I was, in fact, turning into my mother. It happened when I was driving my son to school. Half asleep at the wheel on a bright spring morning, I turned down a quiet country road and I spied an object in the middle of the road. It was something I hadn't seen for years, having been out of the country for so long. I couldn't stop in time, so I passed it and had to look for somewhere to turn around and go back. My son was at once curious and questioning, as he couldn't see what I had seen. I hurried back to the spot in the road, hoping it was still there, hoping no one had run it over. I got there in time, and picked it up and showed it to my son. It was a lovely, quite large, box turtle. My son had never seen one like this before; they don't have box turtles, or any turtles for that matter, on Guam. All the while, I was telling him about when I was a child and my mother used to stop and pick up box turtles for me when we were out driving. He was thrilled when I told him he could take the turtle to school and show his class. But what touched me most was the look of sheer joy and excitement on his face as he got out of the car and raced around to his friends and began showing them his treasure on his way into school. Had I ever been so young and full of wonder and excitement over such simple treasures? As I drove home alone, I found myself thinking back to my childhood, and all the turtles my mother and I had rescued on spring days. And I smiled as I realized that I was, indeed, turning into my mother. Thank you Mom, for showing me all the simple pleasures in life.
I love you.

S.R. Adams is recently retired from the military and has started a second career as a mom. She can also be found quite often in WOW, hosting or just hanging around.