When was your mom your hero? Did she ever save you from the monsters or kiss a pain away? When you were little, did you think your mom was a superhero? (Mine told me she had little eyes in the back of her head so she knew what I was doing when she wasn't looking.)

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1999

Answers

My Mum was a policewoman in London in the 60s, and I always thought she was the only policewoman in all of London, and therefore must have solved all the crimes there.

I used to tell other kids that she had a gun in her wardrobe, and that she'd come and get them if they were mean to me.

My Mum used that 'eyes in the back of the head' line as well, especially in the car. It took me ages to realise that she could actually see what I was doing because of the rear-vision mirror.

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1999

well, you're probably looking for something a little more light-hearted, but my mom is actually coming back from a month-long vacation and since we're not exactly best buds at the moment, i thought i'd delve into the past to reassure myself that my mother is really an incredible human being.

so - when i was little, i was sick. really, really sick. with cancer. i wasn't supposed to live. in fact one christmas my mom went absolutely berserk buying barbie's for me 'cause they had convinced her i wouldn't see another christmas (i still remember it to this day). but i survied round 1, then came round 2 and round 3. through 5 malignant tumours and the chemo & radiation, a cheating husband, working in a meet-packing plant, a kodak film plant, and with very little familial support (90% of family was back in jugoslavia), my mother not only kept herself going and tried to keep her marriage together, but she basically kept me to stay alive through sheer force of will and total love and determination :)

my mommy is a hero.

i will keep this at the forefront of my mind while she bitches about my driving on the way home from the airport this evening.

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1999

There's always been a little unease between my mother and me, because she grew up poor, and only views success in terms of status and materials. I resently told my friend Catherine how she sewed for me the best Hollowe'en costumes. She earned money for the family as a seamstress, and in the 5th grade she sewed me a little Moon Knight costume, with a mask from an old t-shirt, and in the 6th grade she made me a little Captain America costume, with a big A on the forehead, and little wings coming out of the sides of my head. Catherine was like, "That is so cool!"

So the next time I called Mom, I told her how cool I thought those costumes were. (I could tell from her response that she was thinking, "I send 4 sons to college, and THIS is what this one remembers?" Oh, well...)

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1999

My parents had a horrible marriage. As my brother and I got older, their marriage got worse. My father started becoming mentally and physically abusive. This went on for years. One day my mom took me to lunch and told me that her and my dad were getting a divorce. She said that she was getting her own place and that she really wanted my brother and I to go with her. For both my brother and me, it was no question that we would live with my mother. Because we were not a wealthy family, I envisioned us living in a little one bedroom apartment, sharing rooms and struggling to make ends meet. I knew my father would never help. I was scared. I soon learned that I should never underestimate my mother. We moved into a beautiful house. We had new furniture and our own rooms. We never wanted for anything. At the time I didn't understand how hard it is to raise a family and I never questioned where all the money came from to start our new life. It wasn't until years later that I learned the truth. For years my mother had been secretly putting money away, ten dollars here, twenty there. She stayed in a terrible marriage and put up with all the abuse until she was sure she could move out and support her children in the way she thought they deserved. My father was very bitter and didn't want to help with much even college. But my mom put my brother and I through school. Last month my mom gave me the wedding of my dreams. I was worried about the cost of a big wedding. I even offered to elope. My mom told me she would never let that happen. She also told me not to worry. Wouldn't you know, she had been saving for it. What an amazing woman......

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1999

I'm such a big baby. here I am 20 and I still run to my mom when I get sick or I don't feel good. I will call her at work while I'm at work to tell her I don't feel good and if she tells me to go home, I will. am I a wuss or what?? My mom is the best.

She always makes sure all of us kids have everything we want and need. She and my dad do everything and anything for my brother and sister and I. Dad is the stern one and mom's the friend. I love my mommy.

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1999

Yep, my mom's quite the hero in my eyes. My dad was in the Navy when I was a kid, so he was overseas quite a bit. Mom raised me, my three sisters and two brothers pretty much by herself. Dad helped out when he was in stationed in town (he's a fantastic guy, too), but what can you do when you're on a ship 6-9 months out of nearly every year? We never had much money growing up, but somehow Mommy kept us fed and clothed and relatively together throughout it all.

We're all grown up, we've all turned out to be good people, and though Dad definitely had a hand in it, it was Mom that really shaped us. I love my mommy!

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1999

My mom and I have always been pretty much distant. I moved out early, and our relationship is based on phone calls every month or so. We get along great, but we're not very close.

However, whenever I get sick or hurt, the first thing I do is call my mommy. She's the only one who knows how to make it better.

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1999

im with all of you, my mom's the best.... most of the time. if i come home from a long day of work, all i have to do is put my forhead close to her, and im rewarded with a kiss, for some reason, its a great thing. okay, totally geeky, but it makes stuff kinda fad away, like mommy kisses when youre little and scrape your knee? its great, so since we're all sharing mommy stories, im going to share mine that i try to remember when my mom really pisses me off.

okay, i was 16, i just got my license just a little while ago, its mid april and i just bought my first car... all by myself!! whoo!! so, i called my mom from my best friends house and shes all mad at me and yelling and stuff i cant remember and if you asked her she probablly couldnt either. so it was kinda rainy and i was really mad, god! how dare she yell at me! im a big grown up grrl now! god!!

so, i left my friends house, driving much too quickly on the kinda swirvy road home, and wouldnt ya know? all that bragging about not having an accident and im skidding my lovely toyota across the median. im sitting there proabably screaming my head off, heading right into this jeep, closed my eyes and didnt open them until i was quite sure i was stopped, the nicest people in the world stopped and helped me, all i remember is screaming and crying, and the wife/woman person, just tried to keep my calm. the paramedics and firefighters get there and all of a sudden all i can say is "I WANT MY MOMMY!! GET MY MOMMY! I DONT WANNA TALK! NO NO NO!!! GET MY MOMMY NOW!!!" crying and screaming, and god bless those paramedics, i think they wanted to strangle me. but i just remember how much i must love my mom, and how much she must love me, cuz she still hasnt yelled at me about whatever it was.. some 3 yrs later.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1999

yes yes mommies rule..i love my mom a lot, shes always been there for me when im sick and im sick a lot witch chronic lung disease n such..and shes awesome to all my friends...we bring in ppl like stray pupppies and kittens...when ever my friends have problems at home or there homelife basically sux shes there and they all call her mom! ..but the thing that sticks out in my mind the most...and keep in mind that im in the country..the big ol country! with corn and wild WILD BEASTS!!...is the time that a possum had gotten into our house.. and i was screaming and screaming cuz i was convinced it was gonna kill me...a lil stupid possum, yes the kind you see on the road all dead and bloated and not playing, was gonna KILL ME or infect me or some such nonsense...she bops it upside the head with a frying pan..and not knowing if it was dead or not she actually carries it out side and across the road! thank god for mommies! *hugs*

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1999

yes, i agree with everyone, all mommies rock. mine too.I'll never forget the silly fairy tales she would make up to make me laugh. or the way she would hold me when all i wanted to do was cry. how she would let me hide in her shoulder when the big bad world was too, too scary-that lasted about 3 1/2 years! How she fought and fought to get me everything i wanted. There were definitley rough patches but she will always be the one person who knows me best. She moves around alot but no matter where we find eachother she is home. i love my mommie.

long live mommies! jesse

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1999

I'm pretty lucky. I have two moms. I was adopted when I was four days old. When I was 20, I found my bio-mom. In between that time, my adopted mom did her very best to raise my sister and I by working 7 days a week (after the divorce) and scrimping and saving as she could. She sacrificed a lot to make sure that we had the things we "just had to have". We even had ballet and ice skating lessons. I don't know how she did it. I love her very much.

My bio-mom is great, too. She is a very accepting and generous person. Never once (when I was searching for her) did I think she wouldn't want to see me. Finally meeting her was a bit like putting that missing piece in the puzzle.

This describes how I feel about my moms: Once there were two women, who never knew each other. ONe you do not remember, the other you call mother. The different lives shaped to make yours one. One became your guiding star, the other became your sun. The first gave you life, and the second taught you to live in it. The first gave you a need for love, and the seond was there to give it. One gave you a nationality, the other gavve you a name. One gave you the seed of talent, the other gave you an aim. One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears. One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears. One gave you up -- it was all that she could do. The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you. And now you ask me, through your tears, the age-old question through the years; heredity or environment -- which are you a product of? Neither my darling -- neither, just two different kinds of love.

Pamie, thanks for a place to brag about my heros. ;)

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1999

My mom's great. Whenever I have some hare-brained Idea, she's always around to get excited about it and help me out. She has an absolutly delusional faith in my technical and computer prowess. I'm a web designer, and she thinks I should go work for Intel. Just when I thought I'd be making a cross-country move all by myself (to go back home, as it happens), she up and decides she's going with me! Part of the way anyway. She's adventurous that way.

Here's a story about my mom and our relationship: Once my mother's car was in the shop for something or other. We'd rented a very nice Jeep Cherokee for the duration. We were sitting at a gas station, crawling all over the thing and marvelling at the amenities. She glances at the steering column, and notices that there are all these bumps along the plastic, sort of like non-skid or something. We're wondering what these are for, and she says "Maybe they're Braille."

It takes me about ten seconds to spot the fatal flaw in that theory (for which I'm ashamed it took me that long), and I cry out, "Mom! People who are blind don't drive cars!"

She still gets embarrased whenever I remind her about that story, but we always have a good laugh.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1999

My mother didn't do anything fantastic, but she's still a hero. She raised me and my sister on her own with help only from my grandparents. She worked, and still works, everyday at a bakery decorating cakes. She raised us very well, I think, and it's amazing to think she did it pretty much alone. And even though she worked a lot, my sister and I always knew just how deeply she loved us. A day didn't go by that she didn't tell us at least 10 times how much she loved us. We were poor, but she sacrificed so that even if my sister and I didn't have all that we wanted, we had what we needed and a little of what we wanted. I don't think I could ever raise two children by myself. I respect my mother a lot for what she's done and what she continues to do.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1999

My mom is cool.

She was very upfront about questions surrounding my adoption and why she couldn't bear children herself. I had to find out my biological medical history a few summers ago. My mother actually tracked down the adoption agency (which has long become defunct) and got the biological mother's history for me. Not many moms would do that.

I was a little bit of a momma's boy growing up but that was mostly because I needed protecting from my bigger sisters. The last few years before I left home, she and I used to take these shopping trips together in a city outside of the hometown. We would do our own thing or shop together and always meet up somewhere and go have dinner at some nice restaurant. I always remember the restaurants because we would talk about life, not small talk. It was like she was a best friend. She would have a glass of wine along with me at the meal and she knew I wouldn't tell Dad. (They rarely drink.) I'd drive home and we'd still be talking.

Okay. I have to go call my mom now.

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1999