BB2ME #8 — The most important life lesson my mother taught me

I get my good looks from my mom.

I sat in the passenger seat sulking. My mom was grilling me. She had found chewing tobacco in my bedroom and wanted answers.

Where did I get it? When did I start chewing? What was going on?

Questions and more questions. I did not want to say anything other than — how did you find my stash? Thought I had hidden it well.

I was 13 years old, and I was in trouble.

I tested my mother’s patience on a regular basis

Getting into trouble as a teenager was nothing new. I was not a bad kid. I did well in school and played sports to stay busy.

Like many of us, I made some poor choices growing up. The funny thing about the smokeless tobacco that my mom found was that I forgot I still had it.

I tried chewing along with some of my buddies but ended up not liking it. Tasted bad and made my stomach sick. It usually gave me a headache.

I had decided to stop chewing awhile ago but forgot to get rid of the evidence — rookie mistake. That fact did not seem to matter much to my mom, so the interrogation continued.