Mama Mia

It's Mother's Day. Some are closer to their children than others. Some of them by choice, others by circumstance. This past week has given me more insight into that most amazing bond: mother and child. Where I work, I see mothers with their children every day. Some of them are loving and intimate. Others are more distant and business-like. My wife and my son are the former. It reminds me a lot of the relationship I have with my mother.

Being close to anyone creates a certain degree of friction. I have a hard-won and deserved reputation as a mama's boy. Sooner or later, someone will have to stretch their wings. For me, that moment didn't come until my thirtieth birthday when I moved to California. I still talk to my mother a couple of times a week, and very little occurs in my life without at least a check-in with mom. The bond that we have has been bent and stretched over the years, but every bump in the road is something she would refer to as "a learning experience".

My son and his mother had their own learning experience this past week. Going away to Science Camp may have been one of the best things for their relationship. They both learned to miss one another without desperation. The difference between holding on and clinging to each other has new practical implications. All that talk about "giving them roots and wings" finally has a real-life test.

What about fathers and sons? We'll have to wait a month or so for that one. For now, we celebrate the women who brought us into the world, and the ones that we share our lives with.