The Conversation ~ A Man, His Mother… and Me.

 

Good Friday morning to you.

I so enjoy telling you stories about my past which inspired me and added so much happiness to my life.  So here’s hoping that this particular story will give you good feelings and positive energy to start your weekend.

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A Man, His Mom… and me.

When my two sons were small – I spent the majority of my days in our gigantic backyard sandbox that my husband built…or I spent hours upon hours running and ripping at our neighborhood park…or just sitting on the carpeted floor in our game room playing board games.

There was no need or motivation to look nice.  Gosh, I hate to admit that this morning.  But it’s true.

Make-up.  Contact lens. Only on Sundays. Never during the week. And even at church, I was surrounded by other moms of little kids, so I felt absolutely no peer pressure to look like I jumped off the page of a magazine.

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So knowing this about that period in my life, you can probably imagine the sheer horror when my husband and I received an invitation to a business associate’s wedding.  An elegant event with a reception to be held in a posh club on the top floor of a downtown skyscraper.

Oh my word. A formal affair with fancy folks.

I knew in my heart that I was not ready for prime time.  Not even close.

My everyday uniform was khaki shorts and a white crewneck t-shirt. To dress that ensemble up a bit, I would throw a black sweater around my shoulders and put on gold hoop earrings.  That was my formal attire.

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Even with a new dress and shoes and basically a new everything on that day, I still felt frazzled and frumpy. I had forgotten what it felt like to wear pearls and lipstick during daylight hours.   I imagined that I looked exactly like a mole who had been underground for years and decided it was time to emerge into the sunlight once again.

But I needed to forget my insecurities and be there for my husband.

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The wedding was so lovely.  The bride was especially beautiful.

It was ‘halftime’.  Now all I had to do was get through the reception in one piece.

As we drove downtown, I was both nervous and sad at the same time.  The reception was held in the same club where I was once entertained by my clients when I was Vice President of Business Development.  I had frequented this venue many times and never once felt uncomfortable.

But on this day, I felt like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.  As we entered the ornately decorated reception area, I thought – maybe, just maybe – we won’t have to stay too long.

I remember being awestruck by the magnificent view of the downtown skyline.  It was the same scene that totally went unnoticed when I was invited by my clients.  So I sat at the table – alone – admiring a old, familiar place with a new perspective.

Watching my watch every few minutes – unexpectedly, I heard my name called.

It was my husband’s boss. He sat down right beside me. Instant anxiety.

This man is authentically kind and generous.  He was so, so good to my husband and his career.  A graduate of an elite school with an M.B.A. and a corporate executive who everyone absolutely respects and loves.  The first thought that raced through my mind was….Why on earth would this important man want to have a conversation with me?

And then, he told me something that changed my life…forever.

As I type this story today, I am moved to tears just remembering.

This man spent the next 30 minutes telling me how much his mother meant to him.  He told me that he admired me for taking time away from my career – which he knew that I loved so much – to be home with my two little boys.  He assured me that I would never regret being at home for the ‘small things’ that my boys needed on a daily basis.

As our table filled with our friends and business associates, this man kept his focus totally on me and our conversation.  He explained how so grateful he was for the influence his mother had on his life.  And my sons would be just as appreciative when they were grown men even after they ventured out into the world with their own families and careers.

I didn’t want that reception to end. I didn’t want the conversation to finish. I didn’t want to go home.

I walked out of that club – 2 inches taller than when I arrived.

I never, again, felt ashamed of my mommy uniform of khaki shorts with sand in the pockets and my white crewneck t-shirt with dirt stains from our local park.

The man and the story of his mother….changed me….forever.