Eye to Eye

Jake and I have never seen eye to eye on mothering, but as Robert Munsch said in his book "Love You Forever", 'as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.' So, like it or not, even at 22, (yes, it's been a full year since I blogged) I am still giving him advice. You can listen in...
Son, every boy needs adventure. As soon as I had my first & only 'man cub', I began to learn that. It was fun to watch you tromp around in your daddy's shoes, explore the back yard, wrestle with 10 puppies, and climb the apple tree 'all by meself'! And then it started to change. You took a flying leap from the top of the playhouse and discovered that, even with your cape, you 'couldn't fly like Batman'. And I discovered I would not always be there to catch you when you fell. It broke your arm - and my heart. No wonder you resist mothering-you had 4 of them! Your sisters babied 'King Jake' through that broken arm and many other adventures followed. I cringed when you got that B-B gun and headed off into the hollow in search of 'prey'. We had lots of missing flashlights, binoculars, and cookies when you'd trudge off to Rindlisbaker's hill with your backpack. I really hated 'gun safety' time and 12 was a birthday I dreaded. Your aim was off just trying to pee in the toilet and your dad handed you a real live gun! How is a mother suppose to deal with that? Hunting seasons came and went. I held my breath and you survived. A brief episode of skateboarding gave way to Scouting adventures and then, of all things, 'RODEO'. Willy Nelson didn't say HOW to prevent it, he just sang it like I should know. Well, 'Mama' failed. I 'let you pick guitars and drive them old trucks' when I wanted to 'make {you} be a {vet} and such'. It's true - 'They'll never stay home and...' they certainly don't want mothering!
I don't want you to fall. I want you to find your dreams in this adventure. But, I hope you see enough of the world to know for yourself that the gospel is true. I want the distance between Texas and home to make you value your family and cause you to live what you've been taught.
Stealing a line from "The Adventures of Huck Finn", Huck said: 'Pray for me? I reckoned if she knowed me she'd take a job that was more nearer her size. But I bet she done it, just the same--she was just that kind. She had the grit to pray for Judas if she took the notion--there warn't no back-down to her." So Jake, that's what this mother will be doing at least 2 times a day and I reckon I ain't ever the kind that's gonna back down from mothering either.