Ma

“My sister's little boy

Came in the kitchen one evening

While she was fixing supper

And he handed her a piece paper

He had been writing on

And after wiping her hands on an apron

She took it in her hands and read it

And this is what it said:

For mowing the yard $5

And for making up my own bed this week $1

For going to the store $.50

And playing with little brother while you went shopping $.25

Taking out the trash $1

And for getting a good report card $5

And for raking the yard $2

Total owed $14.75

Well she looked at him standing there and expectingAnd a thousand memories flashed through her mind So she picked up pen and turned the paper over and this is what she wrote:

'For the nine months I carried you

Holding you inside me no charge

For the nights I sat up with doctored you

And prayed for you no charge

For the time and tears

And the costs through the years

There is no charge

When you add it all up

The full cost of my love is no charge

For the nights filled with grey

And the worries ahead

No charge

For the advice and the knowledge

And the costs of your college

No charge

For the toys, school, and clothes

And for wiping your nose

There's no charge my son

When you add it all the real cost of my love is no charge'

After that mom finished talking to her little boy He looked up at her great big o' tear in his eyes And he said "Mama, I sure do love you" And then reached out he got the letter and turned it over and he wrote in great big words Paid in full.”

I remember that song because my mama was listening to gospel music as usual one Sunday morning and I walked past and she told me to listen. I don't know why she told me to listen but the song and Shirley Cesar's voice resonated deep within in me.

I'm certain that what I was thinking at the time wasn't as powerful to me as the reflections that I have regarding the meaning of that moment. I felt confused seeing the seriousness on her face coupled with the awkwardness of the moment because of all the Sundays and all the gospel music playing, this was they day she told me to pause and listen.

As I have grown fully into manhood and fatherhood and sit on the precipice of titles like "grandpa" or "great unc," I scream out loud today, "Ma, there is NO CHARGE and anything I may have given you the impression that you may have owed me at any point in my life, the bill was sent by mistake. God did make anything better than a woman. And there is no woman as good as a good mama, I don't care what she looks like or has. Ma, you did have one bill to pay. God gave you the most important job on the planet, being a mother. Carolyn, you passed with flying colors.