I like cleaning out ears.
I think it’s safe to say that I’m officially our squad’s ear cleaner. It started back in Romania with just my teammates, but last week when our entire squad was together I found myself first cleaning out Matt’s when Michelle and Brittany said they wanted an ear cleaning, too. Soon after Holland and Beks were lined up. I’ve cleaned out at least one person from each team’s ears at one point or another on the race.
I’ve cleaned out someone’s who required six Q-tips PER EAR, I’ve found chunks of gooey ear wax, I’ve found things that don’t even LOOK like ear wax, I can tell you who has the dirtiest and who has the cleanest ears. When I left the States I had a gallon sized ziploc bag full of Q-tips. I knew I’d need them for myself, but the best part is that I’ve been able to share them. Any time anybody needs to get rid of something and they have Q-tips they don’t want to carry, they hand them over to me. I’ve never had to buy Q-tips because I always have a full supply. I’ve gotten them for gifts and I’ve gotten them off of the free table.
I know ear cleaning is frowned upon by some (even doctors– oopsie), but once someone else cleans out your ears you stop caring. I’ve even cleaned out a future audiologist’s ears. She didn’t want me to at first, but now she’s hooked. It feels SO great.
When I clean out a first timer’s ear, the questions “HOW did you start doing this?” or “WHY do you like doing this?” inevitably comes up.
The answer is easy: my mom.
I’m 27-years-old and my siblings still make fun of me because any time I visit her I lay down on her lap and she scratches my back and, yes, cleans out my ears.
There is nothing in the world that feels better. Nothing. I plan for that to be one of the first things I do when I get home!
The ear cleaning part of our relationship is just one of hundreds and hundreds of things I am thankful for her this Mother’s Day. But the ear cleaning symbolizes who she is.
My mom has always been willing to do things that others would consider crazy to make sure every one of us has what we want and need. She gives unselfishly to us and is probably the strongest person I know. She handles things with emotion, yes, but with a strength that only comes from the God she serves.
She is my biggest supporter on the race. She sacrifices daily so I can be here. She doesn’t have much money, but somehow has been able to give me more than any other person I know.
She’s always sacrificed for us. Always.
During high school I sometimes didn’t understand why she worked so much, but I now know that she was doing what she knows how to do best: she was willing to do the icky stuff just so I could grow up happy.
When things got rough in life she always pointed to God, even the times that I was annoyed by her wisdom, she never stopped saying that I needed to rely on Him. She was the one who showed me what it looked like to come before God and ask for forgiveness.
Hers is a story of redemption.
Hers is a story of sacrifice.
Hers is a story of love.
And I can only pray that mine will look like hers one day.
Te quiero mucho Mom!
