I’ve been a mother for a long time and I may slowly be getting the hang of it. I married young and had my first child much too early, but we persevered (That’s me in in the middle with the blooming belly). Because as a parent, what else can you do? The child is dependent on you. And you will find you are also dependent on the child. The bond between mother and child never ends. I can’t imagine the pain of losing one, but I’m lucky to have never had to face that obstacle.
I had two children, one girl and one boy, and then decided I’d filled the house up and it was time to quit. They were the best thing I ever did with my life and somedays I wondered why. If you’ve raised teenagers, that sentence needs no explanation.
My life without my kids would have been flat. They brought joy and tears, but it was never dull. I had one that was a daredevil, so we often saw the inside of an emergency room. One was driven to dance and sometimes needed to be carried to the car with bleeding toes.
I worked outside the home, raised kids, and always put something on the table for dinner – it was not always delicious, but it was supper. My kids knew they were loved and had a home to come to, and an ear to listen. Sometimes Mom would blow, and the household wasn’t happy, but she was always there.
Today my kids are middle-aged which makes me old, but we are still a family. Last night my grandson graduated from high school and heads to college in the fall. I remember this stage in life when my kids were that age. A child in college, one in high school and my parents retired and left town six months out of the year. “Here’s the key, look after our house and pay the bills from this checkbook. We’ll call later.” I had lots to do with a job, teenagers and aging parents. But I would do nothing different. It was life. It was family. And it was what I wanted to do.
Today, I’m a grandmother, mother, wife and author. My latest adventure on this planet is writing stories – some true, others not. But still it is another adventure. I’m lucky to have been able to live my life the way I wanted; marry my sweetheart, have a career, look after my parents, but most of all be a mother. 
I wouldn’t have it any other way. Happy Mother’s Day!
Years ago, I had an imagination flash and wrote a post-apocalyptic short story called Bra Wars. A publisher who is no longer in business liked it and wanted 4 or 5 more stories in the world I created to e-publish. I wrote them. Eventually the short stories turned into a book titled The Apocalypse Sucks, a snarky take on civilization after a virus decimates most of humanity. I mean if you can’t make fun of the end of the world, what can you make fun of? Eventually that book found itself in the hands of the uber-talented Airship 27 Productions and with the help of Andy Fish 
I’m not a gambler. My version of gambling is – do I have to shave my legs today? What are the odds of my pant leg hiking up, so anyone will notice. So, with that mindset, I went to the casinos this weekend.
Victim mentality
I’m clearing my life of unwanted clutter and offering up new and inventive ideas this year.
My mother died of cancer 18 years ago, one day before seeing her great grandson born. She tried desperately tried to hang on to see that little bundle of joy, but nature had other ideas. The next day I became a grandmother. I couldn’t attend the birth because I needed to help my dad, who had Alzheimer’s and heart disease, plan a funeral. That morning I put my husband’s pickup in a ditch when I hit the only patch of ice in the whole town. They say things come in threes.
I had a great time at the Meet the Artists! event at A New Chapter Bookstore and Café yesterday. Music by Chloe-Beth, coffee and tea from the bookstore and even cookies! From 4-6 the public shuffled in and out and were entertained by the music of Chloe-Beth (much of it original). Families came and brought the kids. The relaxed atmosphere brought music and literature together in a cozy environment. Friends bought books and drank coffee and tea and enjoyed the early spring afternoon. 
Enid has a lot to do for a small town and plenty to get involved in; some for pleasure others for need. The Garfield County Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) hold an event each year on the Courthouse square. The wooden children in the picture represent the 246 cases of abused or neglected children in Garfield County reported to authorities each year. Many are never reported. The numbers incline or decline depending up on the year, but Enid is not a metropolitan city and Garfield County is not an especially large county. I think that number is much too high, but CASA is working hard to reduce it. My husband and I adopt one of these wooden children each year and dress it, take it to the Courthouse lawn with all the others and hope that the money collected will be enough to help with this worthwhile project. 
I recently met an incredible talent right here in my own hometown. Chloe Beth Campbell (stage name Chloe-Beth) has a voice like an angel. She writes and performs her own music and released her first CD on her 18th birthday titled Remnant. She has gigs all over town – and some out of town – and I am sure she will go far in her singing career.
I’m still cleaning white woodwork. The more I clean, the more dirt I find. Cobwebs love the lattice work. Eventually, cleaning will have to be painting, though I try to deny it. The white, while clean and crisp, only remains that way for so long.
Sitting out here on the prairie writing stories, I’ve made some friends in California. Thursday March 15, 2018 at 7:00 PST (9:00 CST) I will be a guest on The Writers Block radio show.
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 