Andrew Zimmern

Andrew Zimmern Instagram – That’s me kissing my mother Caren Zimmern who was born Clara Betty Heyman in 1929 although her whole life she told everyone it was 1935. Look at how joyous she was in that picture. Why?
Because by that time in her/my life she wasn’t worrying about me anymore.
The first 40 years of my life she was pretty damn worried about me all the time!
The first 14 years it was the natural worry of a mother, the next 14 years i worried a lot about her (she was very ill and remained so for the rest of her life) and then despite her wellness challenges and all that it brought her she had new worries for me as I was drinking and drugging my way through life.
Until i became a parent myself 19 years ago i had no clue as to the burdensome depths of worry I was to her. Mothers even more so than fathers are hell bent on insuring their children make it out of the nest and fly on their own. It took me about 40 years to get it together.
I owed her such a debt for all the lies, the stealing and worry, that I moved her from NYC to Minnesota in the later years of her life so that I could care for her a little bit more and so she could be closer to her grandson. Despite her fragility and other aging issues, I think those were some of her happiest years.
I have regrets in life that nothing can erase. I’ve learned to manage them so they don’t overwhelm me but a big one revolves around the question of “what I could have done differently” for my mother.
This picture reminds me of the simplest truth. I hadn’t bought her anything that day. I hadn’t done something specific to make her proud, there was nothing going on here except kissing her cheek visiting her home. But that’s all it took to make her so happy, because there was nothing for her to worry about.
How we make people feel is the secret sauce of life. The tie that binds. My mother always loved me unconditionally despite all my shortcomings and I think about her all the time, especially on days like these. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and for anyone who struggles with this day, I get it. Go do something for another human being, get out of your own head. That’s what I’m doing. It would have made my mom really happy. | Posted on 13/May/2024 00:46:41