Yay MA!

Posted On November 29, 2007

For those of you that don’t know, I used to be a bit of a wild child in my teenage years. I was never “bad” per-say, but I certainly had my fair share of experiences by the age of 17. I spent a short period of time on the street (which really wasn’t on the street, I just stayed at various places) during the late winter of my senior year of high school. I had a dread-locked boyfriend named Jesus who wrote what I remember to be amazing poetry, and also liked to occasionally sleep in the bushes outside to remind himself of… well, life and nature and fragility and what not. I was part of a group of street kids who were all relatively good people, aside from the occasional crook and/or drug monger. It was, for a time, reminiscent of a family. Anyway, I’m guessing you get the basic picture. I’m sort of lucky I didn’t run away to live on the beach or something.

Anyway, one of the members of this group (named “Yogi”) lived in this townhouse with his mother. They would let people stay and eat and whatever. They had this mentality that none of the stuff they had was theirs, but that they had a responsibility to it. I remember this thing that hung on the wall that said “If you are hungry, eat. If you are tired, sleep. If you make a mess, clean it up…” Etc. Anyway, that’s really how it was- they shared everything and let Jesus and I stay for some time. We would clean and do what we could around the house to help. We called Yogi’s mom “Ma” because she was kind of like the mother to us all. Unfortunately, Ma had suffered from some health problems and had a hard time moving around and speaking and so forth. She had no income except what the state provided, and as a result she had to put up with all the hassle that comes with it. The heat and electricity in the house was shut off for probably a month around February and March, and needless to say we were all pretty cold. We would help her go figure out paperwork and stuff, help her communicate with people, and we got a first-hand glimpse at how hard it is to get taken care of if you are disadvantaged and without an income. It sucks. Anyway, she was always a very trusting and spirit filled woman, so not much really got her down. She was one of the more important figures of that stage of my life. She gave me guidance, shelter, food, support, and love.

I think that because of her disabilities, she is better able to tap into things on a spiritual level than the average person. She’s practically psychic. I continued to visit her after life took a new direction for me. You just walk in the house and she’ll be there, in her bed, smoking some cheap brand of mentholated cigarettes. She’s always ecstatic to see you and gives these long amazing hugs. She’s just unreal. I brought Jeff with me a few times and he instantly loved her. It’s a little jarring at first, I think, because the house is smoky and messy, she has only a couple of teeth left, and she speaks slowly and looks you right in the eye. Then, she tells you all about yourself. She tells you what you should be doing more of, or less of. She’s able to read your intentions. If you’re lucky, she’ll tell you your future. I remember she asked Jeff (when we were about 3 or 4 months in) when he was going to ask me to marry him. We both blushed and he said “I’m waiting for the right time…” She told me with certainty that he was my husband. It’s funny because I brought quite a few boyfriends in that bedroom to visit with her. She barely had to talk to him and she just knew. It just amazed me. I remember she told me when I was with Jesus that he was lost, and that I should stay focused on my family and friends here more than him. I thank god that I took that advice. She says these things with such certainty it throws you off balance. Sure enough, she was right.

I haven’t seen her in about a year (I’m so bad for it). I keep planning to, but then it just doesn’t happen. Katy and I are going to go visit her tonight. About a year and a half ago we promised her we’d bring her a mushroom pizza (easy for her to eat). We’re finally going to show up tonight with pizza and cheesecake. I think she’ll flip a lid when she sees my belly. I’m so deliciously excited to see her.

Anyway, I’ll take pictures.