Day 52. Hula Hoops and bouncy balls

On Mother's day we say thank you for the support, the good times and the bad times; the unwavering love that only a mother can give a child. Today has given me many glimpses and chances to remember a simpler time. I wanted to write about these days today. Today is the day that will make the most sense to remember and document my few but happiest memories of life with my mother, Elizabeth Joyce Nebel.

My first memory is foggy, but it is probably the earliest memory I have of time with my mom. I was sitting in the living room, in a cardboard box and pretending I was driving around town. Going shopping and to the zoo, to the park, to my friend’s house; anything that I could imagine, that box would transport me without even having to stop for gas. 

My mom was ironing shirts and sheets. I could smell the starch as the steam from the iron fell around me. She had the television on as she ironed; the newscaster was giving a report about the activities of the day. On the screen they were showing a convertible traveling down the street. A man and lady were in the car and people were waving at them as they went along the path. They were surrounded by a bunch of men walking. I had no idea what she was watching or why this would be of any significance in my life. All of a sudden the man fell over and the woman was crawling across the back of the car trying to reach one of the men that walked alongside. The car was speeding up and the screams from the crowd increased.

Normally I would think that this memory was something I formulated from all of the news reports over the years of President Kennedy’s assassination. However, there is a part of this memory that is stuck in my brain. The water bottle that was on the ironing board fell to the floor just inches from my feet. I heard my mom gasp and then fall to her knees; she reached over to my box, grabbed me out and hugged me so hard I thought I was going to burst. She was crying, rocking back and forth. We stayed like that for quite some time, until my dad came home. Then she ran to him and he held her until she stopped crying.

It wasn’t until years later that I knew the significance of that day, but it still remains one of my first memories of my mom.

Skip forward a few years and the next memory is much happier. It was a fresh spring day. My sister

Judy and I were outside playing hopscotch or some other outside game – for now I want to believe that we were playing hopscotch but I’m guessing Judy would say it was something else – her memory is much better than mine. Anyway, we were outside and my mom came out to join us. She had with her two large play balls. Wait, now I remember, we were playing hula-hoop.

My mom had picked up the rubber balls from the grocery store. She started bouncing them really high into the air and catching them. Then we tossed them back and forth, the newness of the rubber made them bounce exceptionally high. The fresh rubber smell was the best – to this day when I’m at the grocery store and I see those balls in the racks I feel compelled to walk over and smell them – it always takes me back to that spring day.

After a while my mom picked up one of the hula hoops and challenged Judy to see who could keep the hoop up longer. Judy accepted the challenge, I counted off – 1-2-3 go! The challenge was on! I remember giggling and laughing until we were all out of breath, watching my mom keep that hoop up around her waist – she was actually quite good! I don’t think I ever told my mom how much I loved her at that moment. It was the best day of my life, and aside from having my own children years later, was probably the happiest I can ever remember being in my entire life.

Happy times don’t last forever, happy memories do.