Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine May - Mother's Day Issue | Page 20

Mama Don’t Take
No Mess
It’s hard to put into words what my
mother means to me. My mother
grew up on the south side of Chicago
in the Englewood area during the 50’s
and 60’s, so it goes without saying that
she didn’t take no mess. Imagine my
surprise when she told me how they
used to put razors in their hair in case
of a fight.
It doesn’t matter that her children grew
up in Kankakee surrounded by cornfields that were so different from the urban
upbringing she had, she said what she meant and meant what she said and we’d
better take heed.
My siblings and I used to think our mother had psychic powers. How else did
she always show up at school when we were acting up or at a place she told us not
to go to? I used to be a talkative child, always running off at the mouth. One day
I was cutting the fool, giving the teacher a hard time. Guess who walks in? And
guess who never gave a teacher a hard time after that.
I had always been a child who was addicted to sweets. So on my way home from
school, I would stop at a convenience store before going home and my mom told
me to stop it. I thought she would never find out. Until one day I walked in, and
guess who was there waiting for me to stroll my happy little sweet-tooth-having
behind? My mom with the miracle baby, Matthew, my brother. I almost passed
out.
My mom was a phenomenal example of a biblical wife. When she said those
vows “For Better or Worse, In Sickness and Health”, she meant them.