catapult magazine

Ten things about my mom

by Kathryn T. Jones

1. She was the only child of a teenage mother, raised by her grandparents in a Pennsylvania steel town.
2. She loved Latin and stray cats.
3. She graduated from college when I was in high school. I missed her graduation to run in a track meet.
4. She taught me the names of the trees and birds and how to scan the gardens for the first sign of green in the spring.
5. She ironed my dad’s handkerchiefs, sprinkling each with water before pressing with a hiss of steam.
6. She let me read anything on her bookshelf, from D.H. Lawrence to Barbara Tuchman.
7. She put in her years at the phone company so that I didn’t have to take on student loans.
8. After my dad’s heart stopped twice (and was restarted), she remembered how much she loved him.
9. I am sorry I didn’t try to record her stories earlier. She is 87 and losing her memory.
10. I am more like her every day.