Always a Mom

Our son Tom is over six feet, weighs about 230 pounds, and he is solid muscle. He is in Special Forces. He runs five miles a day. He has been to Russia, Columbia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and places I will never know. He has lived in Spain, Korea, Panama, and Ecuador. He is a Major in the Army, and a leader of men. His commanding teachers, officers, and a U.S. Congressman have written us letters commending his service.

This spring he wrote us that his wife of five years had left him. I was being treated for Graves Disease, and when his email came, I had been unable to get out of bed for the better part of a week. I got on the internet and made reservations to Ecuador. Now, I have a wonderful husband who supports me in everything I do, but he had to wonder: “How are you going to do this?” I reasoned that the doctor had estimated I’d be taking supplements by that time, so I should have some energy by the time the plane left. I emailed Tom that I was coming, and I went.

I went to Ecuador, and Tom and I had a wonderful week together. He treated me to a day at the spa at a thermal springs in the heart of that beautiful country; we traveled to his favorite places; I saw waterfalls coming from the tops of mountains, crashing down over two thousand feet; I saw volcanoes; I saw flowers and butterflies of brilliant hues, and animals I had never seen before. When Tom was born he had a blister on his thumb from where he had been sucking his thumb. If he could have gotten milk from that thumb, he never would have needed me! My self-sufficient one, he had not told me that his wife had left him over a year ago. He recovered before he ever told us.

But he was my baby, and I had to go see for myself. I had to hold him and tell him he is so loved and so wonderful. One of my favorite Dr. Seuss lines is from Horton Hears a Who: “A person is a person, no matter how small.” I am here to tell you that your baby is your baby, no matter how big. Being a parent never ends. Your heart is captivated forever and ever.

 A most blessed mom forever,

Charlotte Snead

Mentor Mom

October 2004