Dear mom,
When I
was a baby and took my first steps you told me to be safe and held my hand as I
figured out how to put one foot in front of the other.
At age
six when I got my first bike for Christmas all I wanted to do was ride it, but
you told me to be safe, so I put on my helmet and watched out for traffic.
When I
got my first pair of roller blades I headed out to skate with my friends. You told me to be safe again and I put on my
helmet, elbow, and knee pads before I skated off.
A few
years later when dad brought home an old busted dirt bike I was ecstatic. Dad
and I spend many weeks rebuilding it and getting it to run right. Finally when
we had it running perfect I jump on and started to take off when you called out
from the deck. The same words I have heard before but always seem to forget
until I hear them from you. “Be safe” you said, so I hoped down and grabbed my
motorcycle helmet.
My
sixteenth birthday came around and you gave me a set of shinny new keys to an
older looking car. You wouldn’t let me drive it for the first couple days
because it had snowed. But once the roads were clear I was ready to go. Before
I left the house you had some more words of caution “be safe”. These words
stuck with me as I got into the driver seat and buckled the seat belt and
adjusted the mirrors.
When I
was eighteen and started bringing girls around you still shared those two words
with me behind my girlfriends back. “Be safe” you would say and I knew just
what you meant.
After
college I moved out with my future wife. You gave me a big hug and told me you
would miss me. You said to take care of myself and I could always visit. Before
I pulled out of the drive way with the last of my stuff loaded into the truck
you told me one last time to be safe.
Years
later when I came home to visit for the holidays you met me at the door with a
hug and a smile. You wrapped your arms around my waist and stopped with your
hand on the bulge on my left hip. You looked up at me and asked why I carried a
pistol with me. I looked into your eyes with a smile and said, “Just being safe
like you always told me.”
