Hey Joe,
Welcome to the forum. I think the way to go is to spend a little money and buy a book about taking care of snakes before you bring home a live snake. That way your mom will see you reading about them, and you can share little tidbits that will hopefully comfort her, like garter snakes eat worms, fish, amphibians, and so on... not moms
. Check out
Garter and Ribbon Snakes: Facts and Advise on Care and Breeding. It's currently selling for $2.50 plus postage.
Garter and Water Snakes by David Perlowin is even better and is currently selling for $8.95 plus postage.
You can find both books at (
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/misc...=bestofenglish). I'm sure you'll be very happy with your choice of buying a garter. They're excellent little snakes with friendly dispositions. They're also small, which makes them less threatening to someone who is overcoming a fear of snakes. In the mean time, talk to your mom about taking care of snakes and the interesting little bits you learn. Some people have a visceral fear of them, and seeing them just turns their stomach. Educating your mom about them is the key, and it can only benefit you as well. Cheers,
Rick