"Spring"

By Joi Drummond
Fall 2010: LL57 (Fundamentals in College Writing) – Professor Lynn McCann

My mother was a very funny lady. Even through humor, she was always teaching me. Spring had a wonderful zest for life; she loved to have fun . She was loud and brutally honest. If she wasn’t, then you knew something was wrong. I think that is why people were attracted to her; she spoke what we were all thinking, but would not dare speak aloud. If you wanted to know how you looked in a certain dress, ask my mother; she would definitely tell you. To look at my mother, you would not think that we were related . She was three shades darker than I am, with freckles that ran across her nose and eyes. Her legs were very long ; she was 5’8” tall, and very petite . My mother obsessed about her size. Her eyes were very dark, almost black , and her nostrils were always flared as if she was taking in a deep breath . Spring had beautiful long black hair; no matter what she did with her hair, it grew back the same.

Her looks are still fresh in my mind , but it is what she taught me that I remember most. I learned how to live my life through her mistakes and failures. “Do not make the same mistakes that I made ,” she would always say. My mother was truly the person who influenced me the most in my life .

With every mistake I made, she had her own story or experience about it . My problems started in middle school. I did not have a problem with learning , but a problem with my behavior . That was a huge “ I am not having it, ” in my mother’s book . My mother was big on education. She graduated from high school as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Whenever I would have a problem in school, she would tell me of the experience that she had. All her teachers hated her because of her bad behavior . There was nothing that they could do; she was a straight “A” student . Her lesson was : you can be bad , but be smart about it . She told me that if I applied myself , there is nothing that I could not do to get passing grades in school . Another problem was that I was easily influenced by others. I was trying to find out who I was in other people. She had no experience in that department. Her words to me were that she followed no one. Instead, she said, “They followed me. Do not follow anyone down a road where you do not want to be . All you can be is yourself. Start with that, and then worry about others.”

Her last life lesson to me was how to deal with pain . At the age of 15 my mother began her downward spiral with drugs . She had become addicted to heroin. My mother was no longer the person that I once knew . Heroin had taken over her body and soul. Slowly, I watched my mother wither from 120 lbs to a 90 lb. shell. It was very sad because she was fighting a battle that she could not win . There was no escape for her, and she knew it . So, one night, she went to sleep and never woke up . My dear sweet Spring finally found her escape.

Mothers are supposed to be with you forever. I learned from my mother’s death that nothing lasts forever , and how you deal with it will make you stronger or take you under. I dealt with and became a stronger person for it . Spring influenced me not to be a follower , so I learned how to pick my friends wisely . Her influence made me become a better person. I treat people the way I want to be treated . I teach my children that education is the key to anything you want in life . My mother’s influence has followed me from my childhood to my adult life . Thank you , Spring Maria , for everything you gave me: the good and the bad.