My favorite memory which I must tell you I still thank my Mom for today is the last spanking she ever gave me. LOL  I know sound strange but as a mother of four children I have come to understand just how much discipline is needed to raise children into responsible adults.

I was 13 and I had become way more than any parent should have to deal with.  I will omit what I did to gain my mothers wrath but I will tell you it changed us for the better.

I will start with telling you my greatest fear as a child and the very first thing I can remember is an unreasonable fear of my Mom disappearing.  I am unsure if it is because I saw Dorthy go to Oz for the first time or if I were just a naturally skeptical child but whenever my brother would run ahead while out walking with her I would only go as far as I could while still keeping an eye on my Mom to make sure no one would steal her.  Maybe I knew even then that she was to become the most valuable person in my life and a treasure like that is rare and coveted by those whose luck was less bountiful than mine. 

Anyhoo I digress to say that the loss of my Mother or I should say the thought of losing my mother still dogs me today so you now understand I had strayed off the proper path to instigate such a wrath in the one person I feared losing the most but I did and instead of my Dad spanking me (which I expected because I was rather old and my Mom is not the biggest woman) she chose to spank me herself and cried all the way through the unforgettable event.  Man I swore after that day I would do everything I could to keep from making her that mad again.  Not saying there were days I am sure my brilliance was a little dimmer but for the most part I have lived to make her proud.  That one life altering event set me back on the path of a normal teenager and saved me from becoming a huge blight on society.

Love you Mom