I am sure you all realize that she was not a half bad mother. What you probably do not realize is that she was a half terrible mother. “*GASP* Shocking! How could you!” I know, but let me explain.

When dad was diagnosed with cancer, I spent almost every hour of vacation for more than five years at the Mitchell labor camp renovating and repairing my parent’s house trying to get it finished before dad was gone or too sick. There is almost no part of that house that I have not done some work on.

After dad died, I still came out and did work on the house to maintain and repair things for mom. One Christmas, mom had a long list of things to do. I worked tens, if not a hundred, hours on the list of tasks she had. I was leaving the day after Christmas, so I asked if there were any tasks left to do on Christmas. Mom said she would be a terrible mother if she made me work on Christmas. A few hours after opening presents, she asked if she would be a terrible mother if I only got half of Christmas off. That is the year that I celebrated half of Christmas in mom’s attic and learned that I had a half terrible mother.

Fortunately, she was also a half great mother too. She was caring, giving, loving, and nurturing. I was fortunate to be raised by a half terrible mother.

After dad died, Kate and I talked about the fact that our parents were getting older and that we needed to make memories with them while we could. My mother was developing severe arthritis with bone degeneration, so she was unlikely to be able to travel or adventure as she got older. Between 2008 and 2013, Kate and I took her on three cruises and three road trips to make happy memories of us with her and help her make new happy memories without dad.

Kate likes taking pictures, and my family hates having pictures taken. This led to Kate almost being strangled a few times, like when she took 70 pictures before we even made it to the cruise ship. I am glad I have some of those pictures now, but 7 pictures before getting on the boat would have been enough.

Mom, Heather, Kate, and I went on a Caribbean cruise in 2008. I think we visited the Cayman Islands, Roatan Island, and Cozumel. There may have been one other port too. In the Cayman Islands, we visited a turtle farm, fed stingrays, and went to Hell. On Roatan, I think we visited the pirate cove where we got to hold a monkey. From this trip, we the have pictures to prove that my sister has a monkey on her back. She was lucky that the monkey peed on the next person instead of her. In Cozumel, we all did the dolphin experience, and mom got to kiss a dolphin. My first dolphin refused to kiss me, so they had to go get a dolphin with lower standards.

Mom, Kate, and I went on a road trip in 2009. It was a giant circle going counter clockwise to the north, into the Rocky Mountains, and back around to Oklahoma. The planned stops included the Mitchellville Corn Palace, Wal-Drug, Mount Rushmore, and The Crazy Horse Monument. The unplanned stops included the worlds largest Jackalope, the worlds largest six-ton prairie dog, the worlds largest seven ton prairie dog, the worlds largest rhinoceros beetle, and some buffalo on the side of the road.

In 2010, Kate and I took mom on a road trip to Yellowstone National Park. It was a place we went many years ago as a family with our aunt. We wanted mom to be able to remember it with and without dad. Kate and I have a large canvas print from this trip with a waterfall in the background.

In addition to the 2009 road trip, we went on a cruise of the Mexican Riviera with mom and my aunt. In 2011, we went on a Caribbean cruise to Panama, but we were redirected due to a Hurricane. In 2013, we took mom on a road trip to Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park. We also visited a myriad of other things through the years, like zoos, butterfly farms, and aquariums.