Pitt, Morgantown, Mountaineers, and Mom

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Mom, the child of divorced parents, said, “That is so nice! I always wanted so much to spend more time with Daddy, but Mom wouldn’t let me.”

My wife and I started for home later, but were called back to the facility before we arrived. Mom had slipped into a coma, out of which she would never return. We spent the night there at the hospice.

In reality, Mom never actually told me to take her granddaughter to the football game. Perhaps I only selfishly wanted to go. Maybe I read more into her statement than was actually there.

However, Dad insisted that I take her and go. “She wanted to go to that game,” he said, “There’s no reason for her to sit around this place watching her grandma die. Go ahead and go to Morgantown!”

So, with a heavy heart and misty eyes, we left for Morgantown that Saturday afternoon.

It was a terrific game by the Mountaineers! And several times during that chilly evening contest, I felt guilty for occasionally forgetting Mom’s condition and for actually enjoying the action on the field.

We returned to the house from Morgantown at approximately 2 o’clock on Sunday morning. I slept until 3:30, got up, dressed for work, and made a quick detour by The Arbors. I softly kissed Mom on the cheek, told her that I loved her, and rushed off to my job.

There was no response; nor did I expect one.

A little while after 11:00 that morning, my sister-in-law called and told me that Mom had passed away.

Perhaps, no matter what our age, we are all children when Momma dies. But for the first time in my life, I was a lonely child faced with the idea of living in a world that didn’t have Mom in it.

To this day, I often wonder if I did the right thing of going to that football game with my daughter. However, the two of us share one great memory of that weekend that didn’t involve my mother’s death! And for that, I am certainly grateful.

But every two years, late in the year when the weather turns cold, when the cursed Pitt Panthers come to Morgantown, I think of Mom.

My daughter and I are going to the game together again this year. And before the kick-off, I will take her hand as we stop by a small brick outside Touchdown Terrace and remember the dear, sweet lady who brought me into the world and made my life special.

The brick reads:

"In Loving Memory"
"Glenna S. Yoho"
"Wife/Mom/Grandma”

I miss you, Mom!

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