I have tried to write the right opening paragraph for this article several times and hope that this is the one we will all agree that best fits the other paragraphs. Two words that keep coming to my mind as I write today are lucky and blessed. I will try to explain in the following paragraphs.

Across our great country on Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day. Those two words stayed in my thoughts all day. Not only did I have a great Mom in many ways, but I also had many Moms. Moms had a network that, as we grew up, spread over our city like a spider web, and they never told anyone about it, including their husbands. From Virginia Gerard, Betsy Litchfield, Nora Mae Alligood, Mildred Renn, Droops Rodman, Ms. Sally Singleton, Erin Tayloe, Mary Walker, Doris Roach, Nancy Hill, Dora Swanner and so many more that truly cared about not only theirs but also the others. We needed this, and for that we were lucky and blessed!

Our Moms were a gift from God! A mom’s work was never done. From early morning ’til late at night, they worked to make sure we were taken care of, and they never complained. I never heard a mom complain about spending the night or giving another kid a ride. They just did it. They were the doctors and nurses, washed our clothes and prepared all of our meals. Most even found time to volunteer at any athletic function or school event during the day.

When I was coaching, I used the cliché, “Work like your mother works.” Mothers worked hard, and this allowed our Dads to work because Mom was always home taking care of us. They cried after our defeats and celebrated after our victories! Moms were always there!

One of the true benefits of a small town was our moms! One person’s table was home to many others and never a question asked. It did not matter to our moms that the neighborhood would come to lunch. She did her motherly duty and prepared meals for all at the table. It may have been banana sandwiches or even peanut butter and jelly — still we were fed. There was always the water jug in the refrigerator full of good, cold water.

Yes, we were blessed and lucky and maybe those two words mean the same. We were blessed to have mothers who loved us unconditionally and lucky to have so many. Looking back now, what we are today is because of our moms, and the wisdom and influence that they shared with us. Mine was my protector, and she could talk about her son but no one else could, not even Pop!

Many of us today have lost our moms, but there is never a day that goes by that I do not think about her, and I am sure I share the same sentiments with all of you. Don’t you know they are looking down from heaven and saying, “That’s my boy!” And, yes, Mama, I am!

Thank you all for sharing your moms with me. That one of the reasons why they were the best of times, with the best of friends, in the best of places — Washington, NC!

 

— Harold Jr.

Harold Robinson Jr. is a native of Washington.