Mom, Terry and I
“Mom’s home!” Clayton, Connor and I yelled. I could hear the garage door closing, her high heels clacking against the kitchen floor as she made her way inside. “Five thirty already,” I asked myself? With only my socks and sweatpants on I hurried down the stairs, slid effortlessly across our slick tile floor and into the kitchen to see my mom.
Just like me, she had tried to carry everything inside at once. As always, she grasped her sweetened tea in one hand, purse in the other. However, still managing to corral the phone up to her ear, she was all laughs coming in. There was only a handful of people that were able to make my mom laugh like that, and one of those people was Terry or as others would refer to as my mom’s boyfriend.

My dad had left my mom after twenty two years of marriage, but he had his reasons. My mom had been dating this man who goes by the name of Jim. At first these guys always come off as the sweet, cliche boyfriend; however, this was just all an act. After the divorce we switched off and on between houses. It was my dad’s weekend so I was expected to be over there with him. Thinking nothing of it, I was heading to my mom’s house with a friend to grab some things I had left there.

Once I arrived at my mom’s house, I walked in the door to a loud distinct voice yelling at my mom. He was yelling, cursing at her, saying, “Chris, give me your mother f****** keys now!” Even though I wasn’t supposed to be there I could not just let him yell at my mom like that. I barged in her room in a bane manner, the door swinging open and bouncing off the wall. In a very serious tone I told him, “Nobody talks to my mom like that, you need to get the hell out of our house and never come back!”

Of course my mom, trying to diffuse the situation, was telling me, “Garrett it’s not as bad as it sounded, really I’m going to be okay.”
I sat down beside her and gazed into her blue eyes and said, “You deserve so much better than that mom, and you and I both know it.” That was the last we ever saw of Jim and that was totally okay with all of us. It was only a matter of time until she would find somebody new to replace her old boyfriend, and that’s where Terry came in.

Terry was and still is a very knowledgeable man, much more suitable for my mom than Jim would have ever ever been. Coming from a military background he was very wise He made an impact on all of us. He inspired me to do many things that I do every day now. If it wasn’t for my mom meeting Terry I wouldn’t be the person I am today. He took mom and I skydiving, taught me how to drive my car, and introduced me to mixed martial arts and jiu-jitsu.

He was always there for my mom when nobody else could be, taking care of her while us boys were at school and work. I never imagined it any other way but Terry was a big part of my mom’s life and mine, too. It’s a shame that mom had to go the way she did. However, I have learned to accept that and so has Terry. He told me that he might not be around as much as he’d like but he wouldn’t forget about us. We still keep in contact with him but nothing like when mom was around.
Still, the wait in between each time we see him makes it that much better.