Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Four Simple Rules

To look at my mother, you wouldn't think she was anything extraordinary. She's short, she's skinny, and somewhat soft spoken. However, there's more to Momma than meets the eye. In Latin class, we learned a phrase: parvus sed potens. Small, but powerful. My mother definitely embodies this saying.

When I was younger, I remember a kid chasing my brother into the house and start beating him up. Unfortunately for him, my brother was in the kitchen at the time. Momma took a frying pan and whacked the kid soundly across the head. She didn't do any damage, but certainly go his attention, and taught him to leave my brother alone. Rule #1: Don't mess with Momma's kids, you will regret it!

As I said, Mom is a short woman, so she always took a little ribbing about her size. When I was a teenager, my sister had a friend that topped six feet tall, well over Mom's head. He was teasing her one night and Mom told him to stop. One minute he was saying, "You can't take me!" The next minute, he was on his knees begging for mercy. Oh, did I forget to mention my mother was in the Navy and had learned a few moves? Yeah, he found out that day, too! Rule #2: Don't underestimate Momma!

My mother and I worked together for several years, much of it on the overnight shift. Many was the time that she and I had to break up disturbances in the dinning room. Someone asked her once if she was nervous standing between a trucker and a twenty-something who were getting ready to pummel each other. Her response was, "With him (pointing at me) standing behind me? Nope." Rule #3: You have more to worry about from Momma than her big, burly son!

A little over a year ago, we found out Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer. The disease spread to her blood and to her brain. Mom, who had never been sick, now had to deal with radiation and chemo. Suddenly, an infection took the sight in her left eye and threatened the sight in her left. For the first time since my birth, my mother had to spend time in a hospital. For the first time that I could remember, Mom was the one who needed taking care of. Rule #4: Not matter how strong she seems, Momma is not invincible.

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