The countdown continues...

A couple of weeks ago, my mother called me.

When you've been around people long enough, you come to know their tendencies, you come to have a feel for them. When it comes to family that knowledge is heightened. So as soon as I heard her on the other end of the line, I knew something was wrong.

The doctor had found something, she was going to have to have surgery.

Whenever we hear that something was "found" we automatically think cancer. But, fortunately enough there were no signs of cancer, but she still had to have the procedure.

Now, my mother is a strong woman, but she gets rattled easily. I don't think I've ever seen her in the hospital so for her, the thought of surgery makes her nervous, and rightfully so. Nobody wants to go under the knife. And while the surgery may be minor, we still are unsettled. Those thoughts I knew she was thinking came so clearly through the phone that I knew what I had to do.

This was a no brainer. I made plans to go home and be there with her.

As the countdown continues to my 25th birthday, I share this with you simply because, as we get older the more we appreciate our parents and the role they have in our lives. This is not to say that I haven't appreciated my mom to this point, because I have. But when we get to a certain age, we rebel and try to "find ourselves" and do so without the watchful eyes of the parentals.

Every young adults experiences this. We go on our own, often making mistakes along the way. But it's the only way we learn. When we look back at what we did wrong we realize our parents weren't so stupid after all. So when we realize how much they sacrificed for us, we in turn make sacrifices for them.

As I approach 25, I understand this. I'm blessed to have both of my parents, not everyone can say that. So when mommy called and indirectly said she needed me, saying no was not an option, no matter how much it would cost. She's been there since day 1 and 25 years later she's still there.

It's the least I could do.