My mother’s favorite phrase she used to love to say to me as we spoke on the phone was, “Stay out of trouble. If not, don’t get caught on camera.”
When I turned against her advice, so did she.
My previous job was in a small town where the chamber of commerce hosted a fundraiser where members of the business community put on lip sync skits to different songs usually to hilarious results.
I participated in the Star Follies for five years, the most memorable of which was performing Monty Python’s “Lumberjack Song.”
At the end of the number, fully clad in the pink, frilly punch line of the song, the lights dimmed and my mother shouted, “Mommy’s proud of you!”
The shout was caught on camera.
It’s safe to say, depending on the situation, if someone asked me, “What would your mother think?” I can honestly say she’d be proud (assuming I just embarrassed myself and not someone else).
Such is a mother’s job. To always be proud and supportive when their kids do something that, literally, only a mother could love.
On Mother’s Day, we get to say thank you for all those moments where mom clapped the loudest, was the first to give you a hug and kissed away boo-boos.
Love you, Mother.
Clodoaldo Carlos Barrera, Times sports editor
