In praise of mothers
“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.”
— Anonymous
It was a Nov. 22 early evening in 1969, the seventh anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, when the front doorbell rang. A rambunctious three-year-old child playing in the hallway was told by her Mom to quiet down while she opened the door.
A young Mountie, grasping for the right words, stood before her. “I’m sorry ma’am,” he said in a wavering voice, “but your husband died today in a traffic accident. Is there anybody we can call?”
In the years following that horrific moment, that mother raised on her own eight children, much of the time getting by on little money and the genius of turning a Kraft dinner into a banquet.
That was my Mom, not unlike countless numbers of Moms we will thank this Sunday on Mother’s Day.
So how do we thank our Moms?
It would be much easier to explain how a mosquito or fly gets in the house when all doors and windows are closed than to come up with the proper answer.
There are many profound quotes we can rely on:
• “A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”
• “A mother’s love is the fuel that enables a human being to do the impossible.”
• “A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.”
• “God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers.”
There is one thing all Mom’s represent: Unconditional love — affection without limitations; support through thick and thin.
That means it doesn’t matter how bad we were growing up, she was always there for support.
(“A mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled.” — Emily Dickinson)
When we were careless and fell and skinned our knees, she was always there to share the pain, wipe away the tears and took great joy in seeing us smile again.
(“My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.”
— Samuel Clemens)
When we accomplished the seemingly impossible in our dreams, she was always there to share the joy, and we always remember the influence she played in our lives.
(“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always clung to me all my life.” — Abraham Lincoln)
Mothers are a shining example of humility.
They never take well-deserved credit when credit is due.
Mothers are a shining example of inspiration.
Seldom do her children venture into the world without looking back for her approval.
Mothers are a shining example of what we all hope to become: Loving, caring, compassionate and an example to our own children, the same as what our mothers blessed us with.
All that aside, moms have a great sense of humour, or else they wouldn’t have put up with us kids for so long.
Here are a few definitions moms will understand:
Ear: A place where kids store dirt.
Eat: What kids do between meals.
Fable: A story told by a teen arriving home after curfew.
Full name: What mom calls her child when she’s mad at him.
Because: Moms’ reasons for having kids do things that can’t be explained logically.
Penitentiary: Where children who don’t eat their vegetables or clean their rooms eventually end up, according to mom.
In short, to all the moms out there, thanks for putting up with us for so long.
We love you.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Rick Zemanek is a former Advocate editor.