CLEVELAND, Ohio – I have recently written about my “mama” Melva Hardison, who died on March 16 at the age of 99. During this period, a lot of people have told me about their mothers. I also asked for some stories on Facebook. Here are some of those stories: Mama’s hands My mother was born in the 1930s. She worked her way up from a nurse’s aide to an LPN at a psychiatric hospital. She retired in 1997. She had me when she was 23 years old. I recall times at Thanksgiving dinners when my sons would ask questions like, “Grandma, how was it back in the day when you worked at those hospitals? How much did security help you?” Her answer was, “Security?! There was no security. We were the security.” I learned that the male and female nurses and aides managed the patients through relationship, care and empathy. This was when “straight jackets” and some medications were used to manage/control patients. My mom often shared how much the patients liked her and how they said that she gave good shots and drew their blood easily. Fast forward to her retirement from nursing after 36 years. At the beginning of that year, our Dad died. She lived 22 more years as a widow. Three months before she died, she sat in her wheelchair. I kneeled down in front of it – facing her. We held each other’s hands. We rubbed each other’s arms and stroked each other’s faces. Momma took my hands in her hands and said, “You and I have healing hands. We’re the ones who will love people who are hurting that no one else will love.” With tears in my eyes, I bowed my head in willing submission, knowing what she said was true and God’s will. Then she laid her hands on my head that was on her lap and blessed me. This was our most special time together. When I walked with Mama in parking lots, streets, etc., she always held my hand! Mama protected me. She kept me safe. I see mothers today walking down streets and not holding their children’s hands … not keeping them safe. I thank God for my mother. Moms & Football When I was a freshman in high school and playing football, I was thinking about quitting. My mother asked me a simple question: Are you quitting because football is so much harder or because you don’t enjoy playing anymore? I finished out through senior year thanks to my Mom, who knew nothing about football. Our Browns seats were second-tier and poles were a part of life. Mom loved the Browns and she did not miss a game. Every single year the seats behind us were sold to Steelers fans. Every single year my mom had words with those men — they may have had a beer or two or 10 — about their language and her three boys. I never forgave (former Browns owner Art) Modell because he moved the Browns during her last battle with cancer. Left a big hole in some tough years. Didn’t have mom long My mom had advanced tuberculosis. She had years in and out of an iron lung and multiple surgeries to remove parts of her lungs. She was told in 1956 that she could have another year to live, “But for God’s sake, don’t get pregnant!” I was born in 1957. She passed soon after. Folks from the greatest generation approached their purpose on the planet a bit differently than we do today. My mama Susie died in 1976 due to doctor’s error during childbirth. She’ll be gone 49 years in September. I only had four years of her love, but I still feel it every day. I feel her when I laugh, when I cook and when I look in my granddaughter’s eyes. If I can love half as well as her, she will always live on. Mama knew how to cook Two words: Baked goods. Our house was always the place to be. There were always fresh baked goods on the counter, and all were welcome to enjoy. She showed us how much she loved us in little ways like this every day and still does even now in her 80s. She has always been my biggest fan and supporter. I hit the jackpot when she had me and I’m thankful every day. Mom cooked meals seven days a week (how many Moms do that today?), kept the house spic and span clean, was a room-mother for school, got all the groceries and never drove a car! She also had a black leather belt and a bar of soap if we misbehaved. Not sure that she ever really knew how much her three children appreciated her and loved her! Moms & Baseball My mom had a crush on Herb Score. She was at a function and met him. Got an autograph for me. Talked about how sad she was when he couldn’t pitch any longer, but she listened to him on the radio until he retired. Our mom raised five children as a single parent. It was a time when single parents weren’t so common. She loved the Cleveland Indians and passed on the love of the game. She would watch a TV broadcast while listening to her favorite radio announcer, Tom Hamilton. Now I do too! Her two daughters are now “Chasing 30” and plan to see the Guardians play at all 30 ballparks. Sadly mom is no longer with us on this earth but I feel her presence at every game. Mom and I would listen to Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall on the Cincinnati Reds radio network while keeping score on a piece of notebook paper. Making up at the right time My mama came to the US from the former Yugoslavia. She met my dad while learning English at the recreation center. We had our ups and downs and even didn’t speak for a few years. But I always loved her, as did our St. Clair neighborhood. She worked at Zagreb Meat Market until her death in 2009. I regret our years apart, but it made our relationship more special in the end. That is how it goes with mothers and daughters. A special mom I graduated high school in 1965. I had four younger brothers. My mom had all five of us in eight years. She was a stay-at-home mom. When I was a junior in high school, she went to work at the Lorain Telephone Company. It didn’t dawn on me until my 60th year that she went to work to help pay for me to go to college. She never made a big deal about it, and I never thanked her for her sacrifice. My mom passed away unexpectedly on April 1. She was strong in ways that I knew – and in ways I didn’t learn about until after her passing. It was a quiet, enduring strength that impacted many people. I miss her dearly but know that she is in heaven with Jesus - the source of her strength. I loved watching my mom with her grandchildren. She made each one of them feel so special. I think they pretended they were sick so they could stay home from school and spend the day with her. She was such a loving mom/grandma. He was a real mom Up until July 2007 when he was called home, I always got Dad a “Happy Mother’s Day to Someone Who’s Been Like a Mother To Me” card. He was an amazing man and raised the three of us kids while running his own insurance business. I cannot watch “The Three Stooges” or “Caddyshack” without thinking of him. I can’t pass a golf course without thinking of him. Watching any Cleveland sports team, I think of him. He and I worked side by side for many years. His attention to detail and work ethic has yet to be matched. But most of all, he taught me to trust in my faith and that the church is not something you go to, it’s a family you belong to. I am thankful for his love and guidance, then and still.