I'm a mama's boy. You probably know that. And if you don't, here's why:
Lou Ann is one great lady, a strong mother, a loving mama, and a fun mom.
One of the phrases I remember hearing most often from her during my childhood - "If we get all of our work done, then we can go have fun." I still live by that today.
Fun came in a lot of ways. Most often that meant going to the Country Club on a hot summer day to swim. One day when I was probably 13, we were on our way to the pool and saw a kid about our age working in the hot sun. "Boys, I could be making you work like him today, but I want us to have fun and enjoy each other," she said. "And, if you grow up to be worthless and sorry, I will whip your ass."
Two important things to note: I believed her. And, so far so good.
Exposure is one of her favorite words. So that meant Cub Scouts, piano lessons, swimming lessons, baseball, tennis camp, golf lessons, band, football, basketball, tennis, track, UIL, and One Act Play. Some of those I liked, and some I didn't at the time. Now, I'm glad she pushed me to do them all.
She has always treated us and talked to us like adults. There's no gushy-syrupy-sweet business, and thank God for that. When your mom is a nurse, you don't get many "sick" days growing up. She said "You're fine. You'll feel better later. Now let's go."
You know what? She was right.
We were always on the go. My dad always said we liked to burn up the highway. We did, and still do.
Right after I got my driver's license, we went to Dallas. She decided I should drive. The 100-mile journey was perfectly uneventful until we got on the North Dallas Tollway. I remember thinking that drive was pretty fun until I approached the toll gate. She let me choose what to do, and I chose wrong. I had no toll tag. I had no change. There was no agent. I stopped. Cars honked. People were yelling. Cars honked some more.
What did I do?
I drove like hell.
Lou Ann? She was calm, cool, and collected.
No day - no matter where I've been in the world - matches the sheer amount of terror I felt for those few seconds when I was 16. I'm glad she was there.
So see, that's the kind of mother, mama, mom, Lou Ann is.
You want her to be there. Your friends want her to be there. She's fun. There's laughter when she's around. She's going to say what she thinks. And she'll always listen -- even at 37.
More importantly, she'll always love.
Thank you for shaping me into the man I am today.
I'll be home soon. Let's go somewhere. Let's have fun.