Opinion
 

There's nothing wrong with being a mama's boy

Keenan Singleton

This piece comes to you in two. Half of it is written because I have that "want-to" and half because I have no money.

Sunday is Mother's Day, and since The Daily Cougar only pays in popcorn shrimp, here is my Mother's Day present to my mom: my final words in the Cougar. 

My mom, like so many mothers today, raised me by herself. And, if I don't mind saying so myself, she did an excellent job.

Yes, I owe her thanks for the gift of life. But I also owe her for the little, silly things she taught me, such as teaching me how to be cool. 

When you see my butt hanging out of my jeans, I see my mom telling me in sixth grade that it was cool to sag your pants and that I should also do it. I resisted at first, but soon relented, and today I happily let the world see my collection of boxer shorts.

Things like teaching me the intricacies of sex.

When I was about five or six, I remember asking her why you had to have an erect penis to have sex. Thanks for the "wet noodle" talk.

Things like teaching me how to swim. 

Her teaching style was unique -- she threw me in the pool one day and that was the end of her lesson. 

And thanks for the big, serious things, too. 

Things like my love of words. 

Every time I would ask what a word meant or how it was spelled, her response, without fail, would be, "Look it up in the dictionary." 

Although my mom knows nothing about Associated Press style, I couldn't have written this without that prodding toward that red dictionary.

Things like my college education.

I wouldn't be at this paper or this University without her. She is the person who filled out my college application.

You don't get to choose your parents, but save for the fictional Claire Huxtable, I don't think there is a better mom out there for me.

Take the time on Sunday to let your mom know that she is a special lady. Take the time to thank her for all the things -- big, little, serious and silly -- that she has given you. Just don't steal this idea.

Liz Smith, author of The Mother Book, says " ... the word 'mother' is already a synonym for some of the hardest, most demanding work ever shouldered by any human ... It is one she cannot easily give up for several decades. It can be slavery, joy in work, a magnificent career ..."

I couldn't agree more.

And for that, no matter what title I may hold in this life, the proudest one I will ever have attained will forever be "mama's boy."

Singleton, a columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can no longer be reached at k_singleton@yahoo.com.