Free Write-Mother and snakes

I thought that I would honor mothers as sunday was mother's day. I was priviledged to be with my mother yesterday. From the back yard my little 8 year old brother came running back with a good sized garter snake. He was characteristically holding it by the tail. "Don't hold it by the tail," my mother said, "you might hurt it." Then without any fear she reached out and took it from him so that he could adjust his hold on the serpent.
I was impressed since I know few women that would hold a snake and fewer still that will do so without showing fear. I said as much and my mother just laughed. "With you guys I had to learn how to hold snakes, " Mom said. As young rascals my younger brother Jon and I would hunt for hours to find the biggest and the greatest number of the long slithery reptiles. We still pride ourselves as having caught 17 in 3 hours. The neighbors remember having snakes all over their yard for weeks after we let all 17 go in their yard. Well, Mom said let them go she didn't say where.
"I remember the day that I lost all fear for garter snakes, "Mom told me. "The two of you were at school and I was walking around in the Parkers backyard (neighbor friends) and I saw three of them. I knew I had to catch them because you two would love them so much." She recounted how she desperately ran around gathering our treasures and by the end had decided that they weren't that bad after all.
There is no story off the top of my head that would better show my mothers love for her children. I her the unsavory task of capturing garters was not nearly as unfortunate as the chance that her boys might miss natures blessing in these animals. On Sunday her steady hand again held the snake for my youngest brother and it might sound strange, but it seemed a sign of her motherhood.