I got up and slowly walked over towards where my mom was sitting in her chair. I leaned back and sat on the edge of her desk right in front of her and then just kind of froze up.

“I can’t do it mom.”

“Well then, if you can’t do it, I’ll just have to do it for you then won’t I?”

She tipped her glasses down off the top of her head and put them on properly. I guess to make this more clinical or perhaps just out of habit, she reached over to a side table and snapped on a pair of latex gloves. She lifted my hockey...