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My Mother, My Friend

By Karen Farris, Op-ed contributor Monday, May 14, 2018

Mom didn't want me to get married. At least not yet. She probably assumed I would try it and then lose interest like I did with mountain climbing...after I'd climbed a few peaks I switched to scuba diving.

I could count on Mom to always share her opinion—which typically ran counter to mine.

Yet, her strong-willed, goal-oriented, feisty blood was flowing through my veins.

More determined than ever to get married, I set the date and the discussion was over. Even though she didn't actually smile, she must have seen herself in me and knew she'd raised a confident woman.

Once the wedding issue was settled, she dug around in the cabin loft and pulled out her satin wedding gown and began planning.

I agreed to wear the gown, but knowing how she felt about the wedding, I told her I'd handle the planning. That's how we rolled, Mom and I.

But isn't that how it should be? Even though it's not exactly what their hearts want...mothers raise their children to be independent, self-reliant, and to make their own decisions. Some of those decisions may fail, but a mother's love will not.

We looked at one another across the satin wedding gown and realized this was a new beginning.

A few months later she gave me a book titled, "My Mother, My Friend." Yes, it was the start of our friendship. I only wish we could have been friends longer.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmothers, aunts and others who mother in our world.