Dear Roni (aka Hot Stuff),
The month of May means something more than it did 10 years ago. We used to walk up and down brick laden streets in our warming Ohio college town. We worried about internships, finals, and parties.
Do you remember that terrible futon in your bedroom/sunroom where the sun blazed through all those windows?
When I look back on May at Ohio University, I think fondly about the warm weather, Cleveland Cavaliers playoff games, and enjoying the annual rituals of block parties.
Do you remember when our moms visited Athens, Ohio, each May for Moms’ Weekend? The fruit in your mom’s Sangria silently decimated the moms, who all came for the opportunity to drink from the fountain of youth. This was when my mom-son relationship shifted to its current form. It evolved from caregiver to parent to counselor to advisor.
Now she’s grandma and you’re mom.
Prior to this year, Mothers’ Day meant my relationship with my own mother. Now, it means a celebration of you, your sacrifices of mind and body, and of the critical role motherhood plays in families.
Before your mind wonders to Freud, let me be clear on two points:
1. I love my mother.
2. I have zero expectation or desire for you to be my mother.
My image of the term “mom” changed on May 18, 2016, when the doctor took you into surgery and I paced in the empty delivery room before joining you. I watched you push for over two hours after three hours of contractions and what seemed to be excruciating pain. When the doctor pulled out our bluish, beautiful boy and the nurse placed him on your chest, you became mom.
You are a tremendous mother, playing, reading, and singing with Ollie as he takes to his feet after a tremendous first year. He turns one years old next week and this has been the most epic year of our 10 together.
I love you very much and can’t wait for what comes next.
With love,
Corey (aka Stud Muffin)
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Corey Ryan is the happy husband of Austin Mom Blogger Veronica Ryan and father to Oliver. An award winning journalist and public relations professional, he serves Round Rock ISD as its Executive Director of Communications and Community Relations. Follow him on Twitter @CoreyRRISD.