Soap Box

Normally the soapboxes I write are about dad, or something political in nature in the vein of dad’s soapboxes he regularly wrote when he was still with us.

But with Mother’s Day this weekend, I thought it was appropriate to turn my thoughts to my mom, Hazel Daniels.

As I have said before, mom had a lot to deal with when I was growing up. Not that I was a particularly bad kid, or anything, but dad was on the road most of the year, so she was almost a single mother for long periods of time.

We did everything together, and she always took care of me.

By her own admission, she wasn’t the greatest cook when she first married my dad, but she did have “The Joy of Cooking,” on her bookshelf, and used it regularly. I remember them saying that mom only ever cooked one meal that he said he couldn’t eat, sour cream pork chops. I’m not sure what the problem was, I think this was either before I was born or before I was capable of eating pork chops, but apparently, it wasn’t good.

Although, a friend of dad’s came over that same night, and from what I understand, finished them all off!

Mom did get better as a cook, in fact, she – even to this day – doesn’t like to get anything pre-prepared. She always said that she didn’t want my memories of her cooking to come from a box. To this day, she would rather freshly shred cheese instead of buying it pre-shredded in a bag. I’m a guy… I’m buying it in the bag every time, to be less trouble, but mom says she doesn’t mind.

She still cooks for me when we eat together almost every evening and on Sunday afternoons.

She was always there for me when I skinned knees or when I was sick and had to stay home from school. I always remember having crushed ice when I was sick as a child. Back then, we didn’t have a built-in icemaker, so ice cube trays and an attachment for the blender were the way we had to get crushed ice – back in the stone age, along with our wooly mammoth vacuum cleaner.

She disciplined me when I deserved it, and we had no “time outs” back then, so lessons were learned the hard way, and remembered.

She made a stool out of coffee cans, foam and corduroy so I could sit on the bench seat of our car and see out the front window, something that definitely wouldn’t fly today, but I somehow survived.

She was there to pick me up from football practice after school, and always kept me looking presentable, took me to get my learners permit, and rode with me as I was afraid I was going to hit mailboxes on the passenger side of the car. 

She’s an incredibly strong woman, she had to be to raise me by herself most of the time, sometimes she’s got a tough exterior, but she’s got a soft heart, and I don’t know what I’d do without her.

I wouldn’t be who I am today without her.

We’ll be spending Mother’s Day Sunday together after church again, which we’ve been regularly attending since early March. It’s been good for her to get back out among people. 

I love you, mom!

So, here’s to my mom, and to mothers everywhere.

Happy Mother’s Day! 

What Do You Think?

Pray for our troops, our police, the peace of Jerusalem and for our nation.

God Bless America!

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

—  Charlie Daniels, Jr.