It’s Mother’s Day.

So let me tell you about my mother.

She’s turning 80 in a couple of weeks, but is not curled up in an easy chair all day, donning a shawl, complaining that she’s cold all the time, etc.

No, no, no, a thousand times no.

Mom is more active than ever, managing a real estate office, working 12-hour days, bowling once a week, hosting her extended family every weekend.

Here are three of my favorite Mom stories that pertain to sports:

• Mom got thrown out of Little League.

There I was, a toddler of 12, getting ready for my Little League game and preparing to face a pitcher I didn’t much care for in school, nor him for me.

Said pitcher told me before the game that he was going to hit me with a pitch each time I came to the plate. I laughed off such a threat.

First time up, first pitch, he plunks me in the back. I drop my bat, take a step toward the mound, only to hear my mother’s voice from the stands: “John! You go to first base!”

So I trotted to first, mumbling under my breath as I went.

Next time up, first pitch, I get hit in the hip. That hurt a little bit. I slammed my bat to the ground and glared at the mound.

Same voice coming from the stands: “Just go to first base!”

I did.

Next time up, the first pitch bounces off my helmet. The pitcher is laughing as I shake my head, flip the bat away and head toward first base.

Same voice: “John! That’s three times.

You get him!”So I charged the mound, a brawl ensued — and Mom was not allowed to attend any more of my Little League games.• December of 1970. Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers at Three Rivers Stadium. We had tickets to the game in the upper deck, snow swirling, temperature below zero.I was 13, wearing no gloves, sipping a Coke and having the time of my life.Mom was bundled up, shivering, wondering why we were there.A guy sitting next to us handed her a flask and said: “Here, lady, you’re never gonna make it without this.”• Fast-forward nearly 10 years. I’m preparing to interview for a fulltime sports writing position at a daily paper in Jeannette. I had been seeking fulltime newspaper work for nearly a year.Mom told me to do something during that interview that no one else would do.I wasn’t sure what that meant, but as the managing editor was interviewing me, the sports editor interrupted and said the reporter who was scheduled to cover a high school soccer playoff game had taken ill and there was no one else available to do it.Mom’s words echoed in my head.

Do something that no one else would do.I volunteered to cover the game for them. It’d be a live sample of my work. No need to pay me, just consider it a writing test.Thirty-plus years later, I’m still in the business.Bottom line. Moms come through.Happy Mother’s Day!