Take the time to hug your mother
By Tom Arviso Jr.
Navajo Times
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It has been a little over 15 years now since we laid my late mother, Katherine W. Arviso, to rest alongside my grandmother and great grandmother from To'dil'to'.
There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of my mom. I miss the sound of her voice, her gentle touch and her loving smile.
When I go home to see my father, there is a sense of emptiness when I walk in the front door. Even to this day, I expect to see my mom walk down the hallway into the kitchen - her kitchen - with a happy smile and a warm greeting.
She would tie her apron around her waist and ask me if I was hungry and what I wanted to eat. Before I could even begin to answer her, she would already be placing a pan on the stove and potatoes on the counter to be peeled.
Then she would start making a fresh pot of coffee or mixing up some Kool-Aid and we would visit and talk about anything and everything. She would do all of this in one graceful motion it seemed, in a manner that only a loving mother could do.
Oh, how I miss the smell and taste of her home cooking. The kitchen belonged to my mom, it was her domain, and it would come alive with the rousing aroma of homemade bread, meat and potatoes, fried chicken, eggs and bacon, cakes, cookies and pies, and, of course, fresh coffee.
During the holidays, no one could make homemade brown gravy from scratch like my mom could. Her hot brown gravy transformed our holiday meals into a special family feast.
I've eaten many meals in a lot of different places but make no doubt about it, there is no match when it comes to a hearty meal cooked at home by your own loving mother.
That is the best tasting food no matter how big or small or time of day. That's when you feel at home, when you feel at ease, when you feel happy and loved.
Mothers have a way of adding a lot of TLC, tender loving care, into all that they do and when they add that special unique ingredient to their cooking, every meal is the best one that you ever had.
I remember there were times that we didn't have much to eat but my mom always found a way to come up with a delicious meal for our family. Using her Mother's Magic, she would whip up something tasty and filling from scratch and we never really ever went to bed hungry.
The kitchen was my mom's pride and joy and she kept it sparkling clean. That was where she fed family and friends, where she entertained guests, where she would visit and laugh with my aunts and uncles, and where she would hold court when I or my sister and brothers did something wrong.
The kitchen was also a warm place where my mom would listen intently to family and friends when they came for help or when they needed advice or guidance. Or, when they came to mourn.
My mom was a beautiful person and as a Navajo woman and an educator, I know that she did a lot of good things in her life. She liked helping others and she thoroughly enjoyed teaching her students, not only about school subjects but also about life.
So now you can perhaps sense why I feel such an emptiness when I go home to Window Rock to see my dad. I know he feels it, too, every day and night. You only have one mom and when she is gone, it is a lonely feeling like no other.
Mother's Day is going to be celebrated on Sunday, May 11. But in our household, everyday is Mother's Day and it should be for you as well.
If your mother is still alive, please do me a special favor the next time you see her or talk to her. Give your mother a big hug and tell her how much you love her.
Give her sincere thanks for all that she does for you and your loved ones. Let her know that she is a special person and that she is your loving mom.
Mothers need to hear that more often and they deserve to hear that because they earn it every day.
In this day and age, it is truly a blessing to have a mother who is there to listen to you, to care for you and your loved ones, and to love you, in the special way that only moms can love you.
If for some reason you are not seeing eye-to-eye with your mother right now, take some quality time to make things right real soon. Life is short already and when there is conflict in a family, it really is a waste of precious time.
The Good Lord took our mother - my mom - off this earth many years ago and we miss her dearly. She was a proud, happy and vibrant woman who loved life up until the day she died. She was a brave mother and a courageous woman.
I know that many of you readers share the same feelings that I have because you, too, have lost your mothers or someone special. When days like Mother's Day come around, they spark an extra sense of remembrance and loneliness.
Take some quality time this weekend and go visit your mother and grandmothers. Give them the one thing that they want and enjoy the most - your personal love and you being there in person to deliver it.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you beautiful loving mothers! May the Almighty Lord bless you and your families with much love, happiness and protection.
To my mother up in Heaven, I can still see your smiling face in the kitchen window as I drive up to the house to visit you and Dad. We love you and miss you, Mom, Happy Mother's Day.