Happy Mother's Day to all mothers and all of their children.
I miss my mom on Mother's day more than on her own birthday or the day she passed away. However today I miss someone who always called me "mommy." She was not related to me nor was she as young as my children but she called me "mommy" anyway. My husband always wonders why she called me "Mommy" as she was almost my age.
There have been times when I have gone out of my limits and told people to do the right thing especially when it came to their health. Some times my younger coworkers teased me and said "OK mom," and we laughed. One of my neighbors did not take care of herself at all. I really felt bad for her. I did not want to pry or ask questions as I did not know her that much as she moved in the neighborhood much after we did. Then one day when she opened up to me and told me that she needed to take better care of herself, I thought that may be I can encourage her to eat the right foods and invite her to come for walks with me. Whenever I asked her to come walk with me she gave some reason or the other to avoid having to walk. Then she would smile and say "All right Mommy I will come tomorrow." Tomorrow never came. Summer time would change into Fall and then into Winter. We never got a chance to walk. I did keep a check on her and asked whether or not she is eating right. She always said "OK mommy," and avoided the answer. Then came the time when she moved into a Senior home. I felt bad, but her son and our other neighbors said that it was the best thing for her. Within a year after she moved in the Senior home, I found out that she died. One of my neighbors told me that she died because she was not taking care of herself at all. She had gained a lot of weight and not leave her room. Today I am wondering if I could have done something more than just be a friendly neighbor.
