It’s one of the hardest columns to write. How on earth can I express all of the appreciation and love I have for my mom in a few hundred words. 

It’s not possible but I will always try. I love my mom and miss her dearly. She will likely read this 7 and a half hours away back home in Arkansas, counting down the days until she can hug me again. 

There are many things my momma taught me. Legible penmanship, the love of reading and how to do things the right way. We are both sticklers for rules and fairness. I get it honestly. 

In elementary school, I struggled with the weekly English quizzes and math quizzes. My mom would create homework sheets so I could get better. She went over them with me afterwards. That is what I remember anyway. 

She is a teacher and cares about her students. Her caring heart doesn’t end for the kids at school. It extends beyond the classroom. 

A gift of hers is cooking and I’ve seen her several times make a dish for a family going through a hard time, a grieving widow or someone battling cancer. She always made pumpkin muffins and required me to take them to my teachers. One year she made food for the fire station down the street and took it to them, it was either on thanksgiving or Christmas. 

A caring heart loves but it can also be burdened by ut. I understand it. Sometimes the stories I write become bigger than words on a page. My heart genuinely cares for the subjects. 

Whether it be Wesson’s softball team, a mom trying to make change in the legislature or a young man seeing his dream come to reality while overcoming challenges. My heart cares but it can be hard knowing I can’t always fully give 100 percent of myself to every single thing like I want to. 

My mom and I may be separated by a few hundred miles and the Mississippi River but I’ll always be carrying things she taught me. A caring heart I feel is one of them. Serving where I am needed might be another thing she has taught me. 

I love you Mom. You are the greatest teacher of all time.