"Monday 5 Things" with D. Paul Graham

.....Thank You Mom.....

May 11, 2020

D. Paul Graham,

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Monday 5 Things…..Thank You Mom…..

I took a very long drive leaving the house well before dawn and returning home well after dark. I was disgusted with the media yelling over each other and couldn’t listen to the news. Music wasn’t doing it for me, so I just drove. In silence. And my thoughts turned to my mother. It has been over three and half years since my mom passed away from Alzheimer’s. Two years before that, the disease had taken her mind. With all the COVID numbers we are bombarded with of late, I did a little reading when I got home. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the US. It kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer… combined. Almost six million Americans over 65 have Alzheimer’s, today. Two-thirds of those are women. Moms. One in three seniors will die of Alzheimer’s. So, I took some time to put COVID aside and I chose to remember my mother and who she was before Alzheimer’s. Yesterday I honored an amazing woman that I called mom, realizing how thankful and blessed I am for things she taught me. Today’s M5T is for moms everywhere.

1. Patience and Pain.

Thank you for teaching me patience. To plan ahead. To recognize that everyone has a story of pain in their lives. That not all is as it seems on the surface.

2. Thumper Theory.

Thank you for constantly reminding me about the “Thumper Theory” of life: “If you can’t say anything nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.”

3. Respect and Smiles.

Thank you for being an example of being respectful to others and proving time and time again that a genuine smile costs nothing but can change someone’s day for the better.

4. Freedom and Responsibility.

Thank you for allowing me the freedom to never back down from what was important to me – even when you disagreed or knew I was making a mistake. For teaching me to always take responsibility for my actions, and to believe in myself even when others didn’t or don’t.

5. Reading and Wanderlust.

Thank you for the gift of reading. For weekly trips to the library that fueled a young mind to envision what it would be like visit other lands, solve mysteries with the Hardy Boys and learn new things that my sponge-like brain craved. For patiently letting me spend hours standing on a chair staring at world maps… letting my fingers travel from country to country, sparking the wanderlust that is such a big part of me to this day.

Here’s to celebrating my mom, your mom and all the mom’s that we will encounter this week.

D. Paul Graham is passionate about people, culture, photography and business. He has embraced his wanderlust with his travels around the globe and is at peace with his need for spirited drives in all things automotive.

You can find M5T each Monday here on www.southmag.com and by friending D. Paul Graham on Facebook. Paul is also a contributing photographer to South Magazine. His photographic work can be found on Instagram @dpgraham and at www.imageGRAHAM.com . Your feedback is always welcome. Email Paul at dpg@imagegraham.com