The mothers in my life

The mothers in my life

By Christian Price, News9.com INsite Team

The other day my son asked me what Mother's Day was so I explained it to him. I then decided to get an old family album out and tell him about the mothers in our family.

Dorthy Price was my father's mother. Grandma Price was a lady who probably should have lived during the days when the West was just being discovered. What was incredible about my grandma was that she could work as hard, if not harder, than any man there.

My grandparents lived in a rural area where you had to burn your trash, pump water from a well, and depend on a garden as part of your food supply. Not only did my grandma do these chores on a daily basis, she would have them done and grandpa's lunch ready all before her Soaps started at noon. There are even family rumors that she taught my dad how to shoot. In the military my father could get a kill shot on anything he could see, with or without a scope. His GI buddies always asked him where he learned to shoot, but he would tell them the same place they did, boot camp.

Sophia Pagan was my mother's mom. Grandma Sophie had a smile that was incredible, but it also hid how hard of a life she and Grandpa Joe had.

My grandma lived through the time of segregation. During that time, Mexican's were discriminated against. As a child, I witnessed her mistreated, but she would always act as if it didn't bother her. She would always tell me, "Just pretend we don't see them. We don't want to stoop to their level."

I always loved to stay the night with her. Nobody could cook like her. To this day I have never had a breakfast like the ones she would make.

She is the one who caused me to get addicted to the television show "The Price Is Right". I would always climb on top of her chair and comb her long black hair as we would scream out the prices of the prizes. She would even let me stay up at night just so I could watch "Hawaii Five O" with her.

My mom is Maria Price. She is the epitome of a devoted army wife.

My father's occupation in the military was beyond ordinary. My father was utilized quit frequently during his career for countless training and combat missions. At a moment's notice my father would be deployed. Sometimes he would be gone for several hours and sometimes he would be gone for three months. Whichever the case, we were never allowed to know anything about what he did. This always left my mom having to be both father and mother to my sister and me. My mom always had a knack for making Dad's absence less noticeable whenever he had to miss a birthday or holiday.

My mom taught me to never give up on my dreams no matter what. She also taught me family is the most important thing in life and to never take your family for granted.

Lastly, but most importantly, my wife Sheryl Price.

 My wife and I have been together for 18 years. She is the greatest thing to ever happen to me.

The day my son was born, my wife almost died.

We had an appointment for just a regular check up with the doctor. During the examine, it was discovered that because of his position, the umbilical cord had twisted around his neck and had caused his heart rate to slow down to a critical pace. Immediately she was rushed to the operating room while I was prepped and readied for surgery. I sat next to my wife, held her hand and tried to comfort her as an emergency C section was performed. During the ordeal, she and I locked eyes with each other and never looked away. Half way through the surgery her eyes rolled up and I heard the universal sound of a flat line. At the same moment, I saw that my son was freed and being cleaned by nurses, but he wasn't crying. The doctors directed me over to my son while they worked on Sheryl.  It seemed like an eternity but it was only about 40 seconds until I heard her heart monitor start back up. (It took almost a minute and a half for our boy to take his first breath.) In that moment, holding our boy and seeing my wife wake, my love for my wife grew to a whole new level.

Unfortunately, I don't tell the mother's in my life how much they mean to me enough. I wish I could get them a fancy gift or take them to a nice dinner, but like a lot of people, I just can't afford it.

On this Mother's Day I'm going to at least let the mother's in my life know how much they mean to me and that my love for them is unconditional.

To every mom in the world, happy Mother's Day and thank you for everything that you do.