Epilogue

On this Mother’s Day, this post is in celebration of the women who make civilization possible. The ones who find the time to nourish and polish the children they have… as well as the children of the world who trust them for advice.

I have gone back to many memories from that time to help navigate the complexities of human relations. While opening the vault is very difficult for me, the journey of the past couple of years has made me realize that this approach is not the ideal… vaulting that is. As I watch my lady raise our children, I see how much value a mother brings to the table. They are true super heroes.

I work very hard to excel at all I do because I have to be worthy of the investment made in me by my mom and all the moms who took time to invest in me. And part of that means stepping out of my comfort zone and opening the vault (maybe not all the way or for long, but just enough for once)

At some point in adulthood, I had the very rarest of luxury to meet this lady again. I had the same feeling of being drawn into her vortex. She looked through my soul searching for some answer. I tried my best to keep the doors of my vault tightly closed. She skillfully managed to work her way through all my defenses.

Mercifully, she was very much as discrete as I remembered her to be. We had a small chat privately during a small family function her children were hosting. She asked if I remembered. I told her that my memory was far sharper than she’d ever imagined. She didn’t believe. So I described the dress to her. Her jaw dropped. She told me that because of my compliments about it, she had not only kept it, but had turned a dark corner of her life. Her confidence was being tested to a breaking point and my time to chat with her helped her regain her trust in her own internal compass.

I was totally floored. Totally shook. I was not mature enough to say anything, so I didn’t. I hoped she saw in my eyes that I was grateful for her sharing this very private moment from her vault with me. I would later find out that she had inquired to see if I had taken her lessons to heart and was extremely happy to know that I did. (how is not coming out of the vault any time soon though)

Sadly, certain individuals saw our chat and wanted to start more rumors and noise. I had grown enough to know how to handle it. She saw how I did. I could see her hiding her smile. She was very proud of the man I had become.

She also kept that big Chevy way longer than she had planned. I later would find out that it became a symbol of her strength in adversity. I also later found out that she had used the V8 many times to conquer terrain that most guys in her area could not conquer in their cars. And as SUVs became a thing, she took pride in showing them out with her Chevy.

As I get ready to wrap up this blog post, a note about my mom. She made ample sacrifices to help me become the man I am today. She’s invested massively in teaching me the art of being a man as well as being responsible for my own action as a man. Her greatest give to me was the ability to learn and get new information from both formal and informal eduction. Through her careful leadership, I was able to trust my gut and learn from this power suit wearing lady.

While my mother always taught me to run away from any woman who had such a gravitational pull, as to her it was not something worth risking oneself to understand, the very early prepubescent encounter with this power suit lady helped me learn how to navigate such fields. It has served me well in keeping me out of situations I could have regretted.

My interpretations of how strong I was in the moment was not based on a very accurate representation of facts. However, the assumptions that came from it helped me build my confidence and own inner strength. While I may keep this story mostly in the vault, sharing it today is a way of honoring the influence of mothers in the lives of many. Just like this lady influenced me, my mom has influenced many others.

The stories I’ve been told of how my own mom has helped turn the lives of many around for the best, shaped the lives and careers of many, reinforces the idea that super moms just do what they do and the world is much better for it.

Today, watching my wife influence my children and shaping them is like watching magic and art. Sure, it’s the motherly instinct we’re all told about. Sure, my wife has her own gravitational pull about herself too. Watching her in her power suit moments changing the lives of others is just as marvelous and impressive. I’ve seen several others change for the better through the influence of my wife doing her motherly thing. I’ve also seen young boys feel her gravitational pull, I’ve seen the wonderment in their eyes as they’ve tried their own version of luck to try and step up. Only time will tell how that encounter of theirs will shape their future.

Thanks to this power suited mom who is the center of this story, the quality of my friendships today are filled with honorable men and powerful women. This blog is in existence in part due to her influence in shaping my world view. Several of the most private of thoughts that influences the stories I’ve started to share and plan on sharing stems from the way this woman shaped my understanding of how men can relate with women and vice versa. Any common thread of ideas one might see develop from story to story is heavily due to my encounter with her intense gravitational forces.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone. Thank you for reading. Thank you for being fans. Thank you for the support and chats both online and in person. You know who you are. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

P.S. Lady in Hunter Green. If you are reading this by any chance, I will never be able to thank you enough for being such an awesome influence that helped me not lock my vault and forget the key. Because of how you handled your V8, my then budding interest in automotive sports solidified… and my healthy respect of women became the standard by which I operate with women to this day. Thank you ever so much!

several of the photos on this blog are from one of the women online I’ve chatted with. She’s helped revitalize several of the memories from the vault. Sure, I remember very well, however, as the images came to light, she helped the exploration of the proper context for these images to come into clearer focus. To the others who made it comfortable to share, your photos will make it onto other blog posts as a thank you as well

Thank you Tess 🙂 The photos added much life and character to the story so the readers can better appreciate what I’m referring to. Look forward to our next collaborative effort in the near future.