Big Mama!

  I think every mother goes through the same thing at some point in their lifetime.  When an exciting tale needs a comparative adjective, invariably, the narrator leans towards "as big as Mom".  Why??? Granted I could stand to lose a few pounds but a lot of moms are tiny!  As big as Mom is the standard comparison for everything from a huge fish that was missed, a long snake hiding in a bush, a black bear ambling down the side of a road or even a bus hauling sixty kids to a field trip. "It was as big as Mom!"  Moms are huge evidently.  My siblings and I did it even though our mom was a mere five foot tall.  My kids did it even when I was nice and slim.  Every kid, everywhere has gushed the words when describing a scene in need of a synonym for gigantic.  "As big as Mom!" has always been a standard of measurement.  It probably always will be.

  Today, the phrase spun around in the brain as Son and I were digging a new garden area.  I needed a place to plant pumpkins and the original garden is jam packed.  The area was already sectioned off since it was a "bog" used during one of the previous clue hunts.  To prepare the site, I raked and son turned the soil.  We had already finished several of the sections so this was just adding extra ground to an existing garden. Son suddenly stopped and knelt down.  He was studying something on the ground.  I pondered a moment then asked what he found so interesting.  "That's one big mama." was all he said.  (At least, he did not utter the "as big as Mama" phrase!)  Curiosity got the best of me, so I joined him.  Once I plopped down to my knees, I came face to face with Big Mama and she was HUGE!  He had uncovered a beautiful wolf spider!

  We stared at Big Mama for a few moments before continuing our work. We were extremely careful not to disturb her any more than necessary as I love having these critters in the garden.  A wolf spider can munch tons of bugs that might eat my plants.  I would much rather have her in the garden than a lot of plant eating critters!  Big Mama is welcome to stay right where she is!