My mom has always loved and cared about me, but when she thinks I’m at the stage of my life where I’m making the wrong decision, she begins to doubt my judgment. She seems to get disappointed when I don’t work to my fullest potential, and sometimes takes it over board.
I walked into the house and saw a look of disappointment in my mothers face. She said, “Close the door Matthew, I need to speak with you.” I pondered what could have happen that made my mom look as if she got slapped in the face. She looked as if she was forty, fierce, and flipping out of her flip-flops and robe. As I approached the bed, I spied an envelope on the drawer with an Eisenhower High School return address. My report card had arrived and it looked as if it was not a good one.
“Yes, Mom?”
She overreacted, yelling, “Do you plan on graduating? What are you doing with your life? You’re never home and always working late!” Mom shouted, screamed, yelled, and shrieked every cuss word in the English Spanish dictionary. She thought that just because my grades were D’s and F’s, I was not trying. The truth is I was trying, but I wasn’t working to my fullest potential.
I responded, “Honestly, I tried hard to pass that class, I’m just not good at English.”
She sat me down and continued, “Maybe it’s better if you move in with your dad.”
Shocked, I asked, “Why? --- I like it here, plus--- I want to graduate from Ike.”
She shouted, “I’m tired of having to worry about you. Let your dad deal with you now.” I was furious, but I kept my cool, I didn’t want to anger her more than she already was.
I begged her, “Please. Let me have this last year to prove to you that I am not a failure.” I explained how much it meant to me to graduate from high school with all my friends. “Everything I have worked for is here, my job, school and friends. What kind of lesson is this, you want me to keep going at my hardest but you’re giving up on your own son.” She did not say I could stay but I know she knew I was right.
She looked me in the eyes, “Don’t let me regret this!”
“Thanks, Mom.” I hugged her.
I’m really glad Mom is giving me another chance to graduate from Ike. Her faith in me is giving me the encouragement to succeed. I want her to see me in my cap and gown, walk across that stage, and receive my diploma because I know that would make her proud.