mi madre, mi magi

What makes my mom so amazing?  Good lord.  How much time ya got?  Hopefully years.  It’ll take that.  And then some.  Her and I share a strange bond that sometimes defies reality.  In addition to being one of my biggest fans, TGOC wise (yep, she reads this thing - daily), she also has an uncanny gift for recognizing things I’m in desperate need of, without my saying a word.

It’s not maternal.  It’s supernatural.

One shining example, from a lifetime of hundreds? 

A recent visit to my parents’ suburban abode, following a particularly debauched, fungasm fueled weekend.  My energy was at an all time low, courtesy of just a few hours sleep over three days.  Also at an all time low?  My serotonin.  Why?  You do the math .

Serotonin is the neurotransmitter responsible for mood, appetite and sleep.  Unlike dopamine, which handles our reward system and is replenished almost constantly, serotonin is a real bitch to create.  Somewhere along the evolutionary yellow brick road, our bodies decided to deem it ‘non-essential personnel’.  Stoopid bodies.

This makes sense I suppose, considering a ‘good mood’ isn’t necessarily a requirement for our survial.  This makes somewhat less sense however when you’re thrown into a week long, disgustingly ferocious funk because your serotonin reserve has been, ur, “inexplicably drained”.

5HTP can change all that.  5HTP, an insanely expensive amino acid sold as a nutritional supplement (see here for more), converts almost instantaneously to serotonin and can recharge even the most happily drained emotional batteries.  If you can afford it.  Which, at this particular point in time, I certainly could not.

Super Mom to the rescue then, as always.

As I was getting ready to leave, she disappeared into her bedroom.  And returned.  With a small “Camel Snus” tin.

“Sorry dear, I don’t think I’ll be able to try this after all.”

My jaw dropped.  I’d given her the tin months earlier, eagerly evangilizing nature’s most miraculous supplement.

Inside?

500mg of 5HTP.

Enough to save my mood.

My week.

My life.

Dearest mom,

I don’t know how you do it.

But please don’t ever stop.

hugs,
cash