I always see social media posts when people want to single out a family member or friend to celebrate birthdays or holidays but I never participated in those myself. I never have a problem with those posts and it certainly doesn’t mean I don’t care when it’s my friends’ birthdays or anything like that but I never got that personal touch from those posts.
On Sunday, those posts were everywhere again as I saw people all over social media being grateful for what moms have done in their lives. I don’t get overly into any holidays usually and I’m not sure if it was the calendar showing Mother’s Day or the fact I have been stuck at home without getting to see my parents or grandparents for several months now but Sunday was not easy.
I missed my mom and although I also didn’t see her last year on Mother’s Day, this felt different. I am still not one to type out a few words with a couple of pictures on social media — mostly because I don’t take a lot of pictures — but I like to think I know how to use this platform pretty well so that’s what I’m going to do.
My mom has never stopped being there for me. I know I have put her through so much and there is plenty she has to deal with on her own but she never stops putting my needs above hers. I like to think that’s a quality I show other people and so much of that is because of her — sometimes even to a fault, if you ask her.
Sure, we have our disagreements from time to time but there has never been a time where I doubted her love for me (even when I was like 10 and had no other phrases to argue with). I didn’t make the most of my time in college and despite constantly encouraging me to finish my degree, my mom has always supported the work I have done and continuously shares my work even if it’s about a random soccer game from Elmore County she doesn’t care about.
Of course, she already knows she’s a big reason why I’m even a sports writer. Sometimes I think I may go overboard while watching my favorite teams but then I see her watch a Kentucky basketball game or even just the gamecast of a Birmingham Barons game and I realize I had no chance of being a casual sports fan.
Sunday, I had a video chat with my parents, my brother and my sister-in-law. We talked for a couple hours so of course sports came up in the conversation and when the prospect of MLB cancelling the season came up, the loudest reaction came from my mom.
Sure, she might tell you it’s because me and my brother both work in sports so without them, we won’t have jobs but don’t let her fool you. It’s really because she would miss baseball too much.
My mom is the reason for who I am and what I do. And because of how cautious I was taught to be concerning my own health problems and other people’s, maybe that’s why I made the choice to stay in Wetumpka on Sunday.
So, the rest of this is directly to my mom.
I know we talked already and I wished you a happy Mother’s Day but I wanted to show you how much you mean to me the best way I could right now. I can still feel your support and your love all the way from Wetumpka but I can’t express how much I am looking forward to seeing you in person again. Whether it’s a holiday for you or just a random Wednesday, I want you to know how much you mean to me.
Don’t worry; sports will be back at some point and hopefully we can yell at a TV during a New York Yankees’ playoff game soon. I miss you. I love you. And I promise I will see you soon.
Caleb Turrentine is a sports writer for The Herald.