LAS CRUCES – Sci-fi fans don’t have to look far to find someone
with amazing superpowers, an adventurous soul who can transcend time and space
at will.
Every mom and grandmother and great-grandmother I know is a
skilled and frequent time traveler who can take a sentimental journey anytime
she wants.
And sometime, when she doesn’t want to, or wishes she could
restrain herself, because it can be downright embarrassing for her kids. I
suspect many a mom has been tempted to dig up that adorable drooping diaper
baby photo when our teenage son is introducing us to his first serious
girlfriend, or maybe even when he’s posing for that obligatory junior prom
photo in his first tux.
He looks almost as cute as he did in his birthday suit, when
he was taking his first bath. Wait, we’ll show you the photo. We know right
where it is (even if our baby was born long before the advent of the smartphone
photo album).
The mom memory bank is generally brimming with magic
moments. They can pop up at any time, and sometimes in a striking montage,
triggered by what would seem to be a random glance or thought.
Here, arbitrarily starting with birth, is a sampling of
what’s in my soulful memory bank. If you check with your mom today, I’ll bet
she can time travel to many similar places, leaping decades in seconds.
There’s that first cry. The first time you make eye/soul
contact with your newborn. It might convince you that there’s something to
reincarnation. It certainly showed me a new depth and dimension of love.
First word. First crawl, and the amazing wind-up to that
move. First step. First ecstatic food experience (butterscotch pudding and
strained carrots, of all things , wowed my baby Ryan). First meeting of Ryan
and my mom. First giggle.
It all goes pretty fast, but the firsts keep on coming.
First tooth, and before you know it, tooth fairies and permanent teeth and
wisdom teeth getting yanked out.
Kisses, hugs and cuddles. Toddler dances and grade school
plays. First song, first day of school, first attempts at a musical instrument
and then - in the flash of an eye - recording, touring, on regular MTV
rotation.
The baby that was gurgling happily just a second ago is
telling someone, “She’s with the band,” and handing you ear plugs and a VIP
pass.
“You can’t imagine what it’s like to hear 20,000 people
singing music you wrote and shouting your lyrics at you, mom!”
You can’t imagine what it’s like to see your son being so
creative and doing so well at something he loves so much.
There are tough times, too. Knee scrapes and fights. Bee
stings and lost loves. Disappointments and failures and injustices. You can’t
be an effective cheerleader if you reveal that the bad times hurt you as much
as they hurt him. Maybe more. Thankfully, those memories seem to fade more
quickly than the great times, or even the everyday fun and routine experiences
you may not fully appreciate when they’re happening.
Sometimes, the things that make top ‘o the memory bank may surprise
you, like a squabble resolved by taking the neighborhood kids to a vacant lot
to pull up daisies and wildflowers by the roots. Or a tender moment when an
adult kid reached out to hold your hand during a quiet walk.
Before you know it, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to the next
level.
“Mom, Alexander Scott is here. He’s very dashing,” the proud
poppa announced.
It was a word I’d never heard Ryan use, but I understood,
the minute I met Alex, and we locked eyes. Alex is still dashing, and I can
instantly access almost two decades of memories that prove it.
And it’s a joy to time-travel through all those decades,
through fun and tears, trials and triumph and mundane moments filled with
unexpected delights and infinitely expanding love.
Happy Mother’s Day. May you time travel to your own best
memories and help make some new ones with those you love.
S. Derrickson Moore may be
reached at 575-541-5450, dmoore@lcsun-news.com or @derricksonmoore on Twitter.
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