I do wish I could tell this story about my Mom this Mother’s Day:
“I remember when she first walked into the orphanage with that red hair and the sparkling jewelry, and she was with a man with black wavy hair. They walked around, peering down at all the babies, and then they came to me.
“I was cooing and giggling better than all of them, and then I pulled off the piece de resistance when I reached out to her with both arms, praying all the while that she would do the same. And then she did! I cuddled up to her as tightly as I could, but then one of the nuns came over, took me from her, and placed me back into that tiny crib.
“But before the red-headed woman walked away, she whispered, “I will see you again, little angel, and you will be my son.”
Of course, I can’t tell this tale because I was still a baby when I was in that Catholic Charities orphanage inside West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh. I can verify, though, that she did have the red hair and my father the wavy black, and that I did end up their son, thank The Lord.
Another First Meeting
My kids, though, do recall the very first time they met their future father. Amanda was 10 years old and Michael was 9 on July 7, 1991, and they were two kids to a single mom who was lucky to have a large family and dedicated parents who would care for them when Michelle worked her Terrace Dining Room shifts at Wheeling Downs.
She and I simply sat on her front steps, and her curious kids would interrupt with trophies they had won with their friends and cousins, and their questions were non-stop.
- “Where do you live?”
- “How tall are you?”
- “How fast does your car go?”
- “How far can you throw a football?”
- “Do you like chicken wings?“
- “Do you like my bike?”
And then …
“Do you like our mom?”
“Well guys, I love your mom.”
“EEWWwwww … gross!”
Not the First, Not the Last
See, at that time they thought that step-sitting evening was our first date, but it wasn’t. We had gone for dinner and drinks, a couple of movies, and a few cruises through the country just to listen to music and talk about whatever. But anytime I mentioned meeting her children, Michelle changed the topic to something completely different.
Why? She was protecting them, of course, and that’s because her first marriage was a nightmare, and the boys who followed were buffoons. In the beginning, to be fair, she didn’t know if I was simply another stooge seeking something the exact opposite of a kid commitment.
Michelle was being a mother to her children, and it’s that kind of love that today is all about.
