Mother Memories: School Life
Memories of my mother and my school life
One of the most important things a parent can do is be active in their children’s school life. My mother was very active in mines, so much so that her role in my school life makes for some of my greatest memories ever.
When I was just four years old attending preschool in Chapel Hill my mom didn’t have a car, so she would walk me to school every morning. Luckily the two jobs she worked were right round the corner from my preschool which was also a couple blocks away from my house. I’ll never forget the look on my mom’s face as she walked with me everyday. She’d be holding my hand with a smile as I looked up at her talking her ear off. She was really enjoying herself. She also had a passion for making sure me and my sisters were doing our best in the classroom.
Whenever there was a PTA meeting or open house, my mother always went. For her it was important to know how she could contribute to her children’s growth and development. This also meant some hardcore butt whoopins when we got in trouble at school, so naturally I was always on that chopping block. When I traveled through elementary school my mom was one of the parents that my teachers knew best because of how attentive she was to our scholastics. Everyday she helped me with my homework and made sure I attended after school if I needed tutoring.
I will never forget during my fourth grade year my mom wanted me to go to summer school, even though I passed my end of grade test. I missed a lot of days that year due to my mom having me help out with my little sister among other things and she thought it would be best for me to go to summer school so that I could catch up on the things I missed and would be ready for the fifth grade.
In addition to our learning experience my mom was also very active in our extracurricular activities. She loved coming on our fields trips. She went with us to the pumpkin patch more times than I could count. She would always keep the pumpkin until it turned green then she’d eventually throw it out. During our birthdays she would come bring us cake to share with our classmates and then she would just hang out for awhile and talked with us and our friends. She was also big on coming to kick it with us at lunch just because. That definitely made her the “cool mom” in that respect.
By the time I was a teenager life shifted in a way that led me to living with my dad and when I started messing up in school while living with hit my mom gave me a good talking about how I wasn’t allowed to mess up and not do good in school just because I wasn’t living with her anymore. Over the next couple years I fell out with my mom and she reached out to me to reconcile our relationship, but she died before that could happen. My mom’s death was less than a month before I started my senior year in high school, so when the school year started I put a picture of her obituary on the front of my binder so she could be with me everyday as I completed my final year in school. I eventually graduated high school, but I felt I wasn’t done.
As a kid I never wanted to go to college I actually never thought it was in the cards for me because I didn’t care enough, but after my mom died that all changed. I decided to go to college and do what my mom always wanted: for me to finish school and earn a degree. Everyday in college her face remained on the front of my binder and when the road got rough I remembered her and what she wanted and that compelled me to keep going.
On this day six years ago, May 9th, 2019 I graduated college and earned my associates degree in arts. This was probably the proudest moment of my life and the icing on the cake was knowing that I kept my promise to my mom and finished school because of all the wisdom knowledge and understanding that she gave me as a child. I knew she was proud looking down on me and it was the best feeling and more living proof that she was a great and attentive school mother.
~~Happy Heavenly Mother’s Day, Ruby Lee.
About the Creator
Joe Patterson
Hi I'm Joe Patterson. I am a writer at heart who is a big geek for film, music, and literature, which have all inspired me to be a writer. I rap, write stories both short and long, and I'm also aspiring to be an author and a filmmaker.
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Comments (5)
You've done your mom proud, in life and with this story in her honor. Congratulations on earning your degree.
Such a beautiful story of your Mum and her loving influence and inspiration on your life.
Oh what a nice collection of memories!
AWWW this is so sweet - what a great Mom you had. She kept involved in everything you did and CARED!! I wish today more were like her and that more kids would want their parents to be proud so behave in school. Congrats on your degree. She is proud and so is your Dad.!
Love your tribute to your mom!!!