Mother’s Day
Dear Mom,
When I moved into my current apartment and got it situated, I was very pleased with how it all came together beautifully. However, I wondered why my kitchen was small. I thought to myself, “Did the universe not know that I now prepare most of my meals because of the healthy diet I adopted due to my digestive issues?” Did the universe forget that I could truly utilize a much larger kitchen to its fullest?” I later concluded that I might learn something from this minor dilemma. Perhaps I would learn to be disciplined and wash my dirty dishes every day due to the limited kitchen space.
Instead, I soon realized how much work it takes to consistently feed myself a healthy diet—in other words, to nurture myself—and I am only one person, simply taking care of just me. Even so, a pile of dirty dishes usually sat in the sink or due to limited counter space, even on my kitchen floor. My laundry also piled up at times because I only had the time (or desire) to wash one “emergency” load at a time. But hey, I’m a busy man! I have legitimate excuses.
It later dawned on me that during my childhood, you cooked and fed us all every day, washed the dishes, did the laundry, worked a full-time job, paid the bills, cleaned the house and most likely handled even more than I can remember. I currently do this only for me and I sometimes can’t or perhaps don’t really want to try to keep up. It’s a lot of work.
No matter how challenging my relationship with my father was, he worked a job for many years and provided for his family, and so did you. He also fixed and upgraded many things in and around the house, but what most impresses me is the courage you both had to escape Communist Czechoslovakia so that we would have better opportunities in America and be spared the oppressive conditions that came with the Soviet occupation.
I greatly appreciated everything you and my father did for our family. You worked hard to ensure that we kept moving forward in life, even when the family dynamics at home were sometimes challenging. We always had a good, clean, comfortable home and healthy meals prepared by you. You also made sure that my brother and I were regularly exposed to culture—museums, concerts, theater, the zoo and aquariums and more.
I am grateful for all you did for us. Motherhood has to be the toughest job in the world. I got to where I currently am mainly because of my tenacity, strength and courage. I now realize where I get it from—you!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Jerry Hocek and Angelica Pat Sanshompoo, Publishers
PS I have since purchased a portable dishwasher, and now utilize the wash and fold service at my local laundromat – lesson learned and problems solved.
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