When I was in 3rd grade my Mom, Jill Albrecht, attended my parent-teacher conference to hear how I was doing in class. Before the alliance began their conversation about my academic progress, or lack thereof, my teacher shared with my Mom that when filling out a form preparing for the conference I had listed my mother’s occupation as Zookeeper. With 4 kids under 10 years old, I thought that was an accurate description of my mother’s primary job as a Stay at Home Mom.
Her Real Job
However, today, as I reflect on my Mama’s career I have a different answer. My Mom has been my ultimate life mechanic. Whenever something went wrong in any area of my life she could fix it.
My Mama’s Life Mechanic Services
When I was hungry, she fed me.
When my clothes were dirty, she would clean them.
When my bed was was a mess she could remake it.
When I had trouble with my attitude she adjusted it.
When my wallet was broken she put a couple dollars in it to patch the holes.
When poison ivy blistered my skin she polished me pink with calamine lotion and stopped the itching and oozing.
When my confidence was cracked she welded it back together.
When my grades were broken she fixed them (before I could do anything else).
When my eyes leaked, she found the source and stopped the drips.
When my knee was broken my senior year in high school she organized the doctors to put it back together.
When my public speaking sputtered she fixed it. And fixed it... AND FIXED IT! (With a smile, a pause for impact, and eye contact.)
When she made chili and the muffler stopped working she… actually, she never could fix that one.
When my steering was off she aligned it.
When I ran too hot she added coolant.
When my headlights padiddled she always had a spare bulb.
To make sure my visibility was good she gave me fresh wipers, window washer fluid, and an ice scraper (because I grew up in Vermont).
My mom also taught me how to properly adjust the rearview mirror. Because some of the best views are behind you.
However, my Mom no longer needs to step in when things go wrong because she has taught me how to fix things myself. She has given me all of her tools. And today, there is no problem large or small that I can’t handle with the tools my Mama gave me.
Thank You Mama!
Happy Mother’s Day.
Adam Albrecht Blog 