A Letter To My Real Life Superhero

Defining a "mother" on the surface level may seem easy. But, if you were to ask one hundred different people, no two answers would be the same. Some children have never known a mother. Some children do have mothers but will never get to experience the feeling of motherly love. A mother to me is not just the woman who gave birth to you. A mother is the first person to teach and show you what unconditional love is. A mother is your sempiternal shoulder to cry on, your first and forever cheerleader. A mother is so much more to me than I could ever find the words to express. I wish that everyone was lucky enough to have a mother like mine.

Her Unconditional Love

Although I can't find the correct words to express myself, I do have a couple of stories that stick out in my memory to show you what kind of mother I have. As an infant, I never actually learned how to crawl, at least not the proper way; it was more of an "army crawl," as my mom has relayed to me so often. The reason for that being any time my mom would put me down, I would wail until she picked me back up again. I was either really lazy or didn't want to be separated from her (which is still pretty true to this day). I went straight from "army crawling" to walking at 14 months, all because I was literally attached at the hip to her and knew she would never let me down.

Her Selflessness

When I was around age five, we moved to Louisiana. For the majority of my mom's adult life, she had always been a waitress, and arriving at this strange new place was no exception. She landed a waitressing gig at an upscale steakhouse. When she first started there, she was working the lunch shift so she would be able to pick up and drop us off at school and be available for any afterschool activities. Eventually, she was offered the opportunity to work the dinner shift instead. It meant longer hours, better tips, less sleep, but more time that she could be around for her children. Her schedule was something along the lines of arriving at 4 PM, and she would finally get home at 12 AM. I vividly remember writing her notes every night and leaving them in the kitchen, begging her to come t0 sleep in my bed when she got home. I would always wake up to her right next to me, sacrificing cuddling in bed after a long night with her husband because she knew I needed her more. She would wake up at 6 AM to get my brother and me ready for school and drop us off. Then she would pick us up from school hours later and help me get started on my homework before rushing to get ready for work and repeat the same cycle over again the next day. I'm sure she hated the hours and the lack of sleep, but she did it so she could be more present in her children's lives during the day. She is selfless and always puts her children's needs before her own.

Her Determination

My mom has never been to college, not because she didn't want to but because she moved out at 16 and supported herself ever since and could never afford it. She transitioned from her waitressing job to an assistant position at a fairly new mortgage company in 2004. My mom is not a technologically inclined person, especially in the early 2000s when cell phones and computers were a relatively new concept. She couldn't figure out how to turn off her phone or change her ringtone without my assistance. Regardless, she accepted this job of answering emails and phone calls t0 have normal work hours and be around for her children. She is still employed with the same company, which has expanded substantially since she started and opened new locations in several states. She has excelled in her position and has risen the ranks to Office Manager/Executive Assistant. She helps organize all of their events and is on the Marketing Team, and orders all of their promotional material. She is known as the "Office Mom," and if anyone has a problem or needs help with something, she is the go-to person. All with no experience and never having used a computer before. She has taught me that anything is possible.

Her Unwavering Kindness

I think that the most important quality she has passed onto me is her kindness. Her ability to always see the good in people. I was a wild teenager, one whose favorite phrase was, "I'm 16, I'm an adult, and I can do what I want." Despite that, she never gave up on me. My brother and I liked to be surrounded by our friends at all times, to the point that someone had made a Facebook Check-In Location aptly dubbed "The McKernan Orphanage" We weren't rich by any means, but that never stopped her from allowing us to have our friends basically live there, even though it was a couple of extra mouths to feed, just because she wanted to see her children happy.

Her Courage

I inherited many of her traits, including her extremely introverted personality type and absolutely loathing being the center of attention. Despite this, her boss nominated her to be on the "prom court" for a charity event. This event was to raise money for Cancer and would be live-streamed to hundreds of people. She had to take "prom pictures," and when they finally came in, she broke down in tears because she felt that she looked "old" As it began to get closer and closer to the event date, she started to stress and freak out even more with each passing day. Even though she was 100% out of her comfort zone, she went. She danced on stage, answered questions, and at the end of the night, she was crowned "Prom Queen" for being the female to raise the most donations. I have never been more proud of her than I was watching her on that stage. Her conquering her fears gave me the courage to search for a new job, to fly and Uber alone in an unfamiliar city, and even to sign up for driving classes.

I've had many people tell me that they wish my mom were their mom, and I wish everyone could experience having a mother as exceptional as mine. I just turned 28 years old and have lived with her basically my entire life - except for a couple of months when I was a teenager. If I'm honest with myself, the reason I've never moved out is that not only is she my mother, but she's also my best friend, and I don't want to imagine what life would be like without her. But with her support and encouragement, I've been making big life changes recently. I have plans to move to Florida, eleven hours away from her. The thought terrifies me, but I know that if she can do it, then so can I. Thank you, Mom. I love you.

Thank you for taking the time to read. I loved writing this story about my mom because she means so much to me. If you enjoyed my story, please like, share, or even leave a tip. Thank you for your support!