“Her Three Loves”

1. Me, a motorcycle, and rock climbing – those were my mom’s passions. She always gave me her full attention, but any leftover time was then divided between her love for her Harley and her love for scaling the highest walls and rock cliffs she could find. Between the three of us, my mom stayed busy but enjoyed life to its fullest. Most people would never call her a traditional lady, but Mom knew I was proud of her uniqueness. When I was younger, I remember wishing she were more like a normal mother. I used to wish that but not anymore! 

2. Other moms loved to cook. Over the years, Mom developed a fondness for avoiding any and all activities in the kitchen. That’s when life as we knew it began to change. Trying to discover my hidden talents, I signed up for a life skills class. (Secretly, I believe my mom was hoping I would pick up where she left off in this area!) We were expected to learn to develop and perfect many skills learned in this class, but the one I dreaded most was cooking. Everyone in my class was asked to create an original recipe and present it to the class. Although Mom was not a role model for me in the kitchen, I needed her help. As soon as I told her about the project, she began laughing hysterically. How could she help me when she had no clue what to do herself? She offered to teach me everything she knew about motorcycles or climbing, but cooking?  

3. The following Saturday, we spent most of the day in the kitchen, a first for us. We flipped through all of the cookbooks and recipe cards Mom had collected over the years. She had never tried any of them, but long ago she believed that one day they would come in handy. After combing through a short stack of recipes that caught our attention, like asparagus cake, noodle-less lasagna, peanut butter and raisin bread custard, and Vanilla Wafer cookie cake, the time had come to pick the best of the best. Choosing several recipes that sounded like they would taste great together, we created a dish that combined the Southern flavor of BBQ with a traditional meatloaf, and the resulting flavor was unforgettable! Between the two of us, we had discovered the BBQ Potato Cheese Meatloaf. I was convinced I would win the prize for the best recipe ever.  

4. It was the morning our projects were due, and as usual, Mom took me to school on the back of her Harley on her way to teach a rock climbing class at the local gym. Afraid she would lose track of time at the top of her imaginative rock mountain, I made her repeat after me ten times, “I’ll be back at 12:00 with your culinary delight!” Family members were invited to bring the results of our projects and join us for the presentations. There was no doubt that she was going to remember because I heard her loudly scream those same words over the massive roar of her bike as she drove out of sight.

5. I watched the hands on the clock tick away the seconds as 12:00 rolled around. I saw Derrick’s dad proudly enter the room with a chocolate masterpiece. Kim’s grandmother strolled in with a chicken casserole and aroma that made our stomachs growl hungrily. Travis and his mom brought in a gallon jug of some concoction that had lemon and lime slices floating on top. With each new dish and guest who entered, my anticipation would rise, then fall. Could my mom have forgotten? Did she realize how very important this day was? Did she know how proud I was of our creation? As the clock struck noon, disappointment struck me.

6. Then I heard a faint, yet ever-growing roar that was all too familiar to my ears. Alright, Mom! My heart was racing as I walked to the window, but then it stopped beating when I saw her waving at me so proudly – she had made it! It was obvious she didn’t have a clue that she had forgotten our dish. When she saw my reaction, she immediately realized what she had done, and her regret was noticeable.

7. However, it didn’t last long. At that moment, the fire alarm sounded and the smell of smoke was hovering over us. Someone’s hot oil on the stove had caught on fire, and flames were reaching the ceiling. Practicing fire drills was second nature to all of us, so we calmly filed out of the school onto the front lawn. As soon as the alarm stopped, we heard Tori’s muffled screams coming from the room next door to the fire. She was stuck and couldn’t get out. All of us tried not to panic, but we were all petrified and didn’t know what to do to help her.

8. My “not-so-traditional” mom was the only one moving behind us. She pulled out her rock-climbing bag from the back of her radiant red motorcycle and ran towards the building. In an instant, she was scaling the wall and heading up to the room where Tori was trapped. Before we knew it, Mom had Tori in a make-shift harness and lowered her down to safety. As soon as Tori’s feet were on the ground and she was out of the harness, Mom reeled the rope back up, made some adjustments, and then rappelled back down to a very thankful crowd. As I looked around at the people surrounding her, I couldn’t help but smile with pride. Who wants normal when you could have this?

9. Me, a motorcycle, and rock climbing – those were my hero’s passions.