By Bill King
This week we pause to remember and honor our mothers. Let me begin by saying that I loved and appreciated my mother greatly. Well, I always loved her, but I may not have always appreciated her as much as I should have. Now, having set that record straight, I do have suspicions that my mother was the last surviving Puritan in America. To say my mother was strict would be like saying Jaws was a minnow.
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. They protested against the Church of England and sought to purify the church. Some of the earliest American settlers from England were Puritans. They had a long and strict list of things their church members could and could not do. So did my mama! If they/we did or did not do those things, disciplinary action was taken.
Mama attended the Baptist church most of her life, as have I. Mama said that on Sundays, each and every Sunday, we would go to church unless we were dead or somewhere in the neighborhood of it. If we were somewhere in the neighborhood of it, we had to stay there all day long. No miraculous recoveries were allowed after church.
As far back as I can remember, Mama told us we were Baptist, but I do believe she may have been a closet Puritan. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do believe that Sunday is a holy day of rest and worship, but Mama had some ideas that went beyond simply going to worship. Her interpretation of rest and mine didn’t always agree. She strictly didn’t believe we should drown worms on Sunday, even if we had already been to church. I mean, no fishing was allowed whatsoever on The Lord’s Day. That was especially difficult for a young boy who loved to fish and had a fish pond directly in front of his house. I’m talking about I could sit on my front porch and throw a rock in the water. Rock throwing was allowed, as long as that rock wasn’t attached to a line, float, hook, and worn!
Mama had other strange ideas about all that water. Mama didn’t swim at all…couldn’t and didn’t. She never learned the fine art of gliding through water. She didn’t mind if we swam, but not on Sundays. She also didn’t appreciate “mixed bathing.” In case your mama was not a Puritan, and you don’t know what that means; it means no boys and girls swimming together. Once, in protest, I said, “We’re not bathing together; we’re just swimming together.” She said, “You aren’t doing either!”
Strangely enough, we were allowed to play on Sunday afternoons. I asked once why we could play football, basketball, shoot marbles, or a BB gun on Sundays but couldn’t fish or swim. She asked, “Do you want to continue playing on Sundays?” I got the point and hushed my mouth!
My mother may have gone a little far with some of her rules and regulations, but I am thankful she did not allow us to run amuck and do whatever we wished. Children can be much like an automobile; they must be steered in the right direction, or they can easily get off track and end up in the ditch. As an adult, I now appreciate the loving guidance she gave. If I still had my mom with me, I would give her a big ole hug and tell her thank you! Thanks to all you good mothers, and have a happy Mother’s Day!
