Writer’s Block: Happy Mother’s Day, Mom

By DINA ARÉVALO
Port Isabel-South Padre Press
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com

Last weekend, as I was visiting my parents and enjoying a meal with them Sunday afternoon, my mom non-so-subtly began to drop hints about Mother’s Day.

She and my dad had been discussing how their church plans to celebrate the holiday this coming weekend when Mom casually mentioned a corsage. It would be nice, she said, to be able to wear a fresh flower corsage pinned to her Sunday dress next weekend.

The conversation soon steered away to other topics, but as we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, Mom smoothly worked in another reference to that floral accessory, mentioning how much she loves fresh flowers. I laughed a little at the thinly veiled Mother’s Day gift suggestion.

Having lunch together on Sundays after my parents get out of church is a bit of a tradition for us. Dad and I have uncannily similar senses of humor, full of sarcasm and self-deprecation disguised as false modesty. Between my parents, Mom has always been the more serious of the pair, so when you combine my dad’s mischievous sense of mirth with my own quick-fire wit, well, it’s not long until everyone at the table is the playful — and loving — subject of a joke. No one is immune. Not Mom, Dad, me, my siblings or whoever else may be with us, as relatives who have dined with us over Thanksgiving can attest to.

Recently, a television commercial for a local car dealership has featured a line my dad found funny, all the more so because one of the characters in the commercial shares the same name as my mom. For the past couple of weeks, Dad has been incessantly quoting the line at my mom. They told me about it at a recent Sunday lunch, and suddenly, it was like that commercial was on every time I turned on the TV. So, naturally, I started in on quoting it, too.

Mom’s good humor and patience at hearing the line so many times had begun to wear thin by last Sunday, when I spotted an opportunity to quote the line one more time. “Yah!” she said with exasperation and a roll of her eyes. A second later, she cracked a smile, rolled her eyes again and laughed.

Mom definitely puts up with a lot from her family. She’s married to a man who fills his sermons with personal anecdotes, one daughter who is always eager to share everything she has learned — in painstakingly minute detail, another daughter who is as headstrong and independent as she is, and a son who is corny like Dad and loyal like her.

She puts up with a lot for her family, too. Mom’s first concerns are always about us. Are we doing ok? How is work? Are we eating OK? She even asks how my cat is doing. Every time we talk, without fail, she’ll ask me if he’s doing alright.

We may crack a lot of jokes, but it’s always from a place of love and gratitude for the selfless woman that she is. So, if Mom is dropping hints about a corsage, I definitely don’t think that’s too much to ask. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Want the whole story? Pick up a copy of the Port Isabel-South Padre Press, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2017/05/12/writers-block-happy-mothers-day-mom/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.