Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. You probably already know this, since all of my friends and interested individuals are very intelligent, but there hasn’t always been a Mother’s Day. It became official in the United States in 1914 when Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing the date. So I guess before this date moms were taken for granted 365 days each year, instead of only 364 days each year. Just kidding I’m sure none of you (or me and my children) are guilty of taking your mother for granted.

Anyway, I’m getting older. Therefore, my mom is also getting older. Many of you would probably even consider my mom old, but only if you consider 81 years as being old. She is 50% of a team that raised three kids, put all three through college, experienced their kids marrying and having kids of their own. Dad died 15 years ago, so she has soldiered on as the matriarch of the family for another decade and a half.

I’m not going to say that I had the “best” mother. I’m also not going to say that she is the “best in the world” or something else inane like that. I am already tired of seeing my Facebook friends say such things. They don’t know if they had the “best” mother. What makes one really good mother better than some other really good mother? However, I will say that God blessed me with the mother that I needed and so she was the best mother for me. I hope and pray that you can say that your mother was the best for you.

But, I digress. As usual. My mom wasn’t cool. Come to think of it she’s really not very cool now in the way that the world views coolness. She’s mom. She made sure I brushed my teeth. She made sure I had clothes on when I left the house and that they matched at some level. She fixed a lot of meals. She tended my scrapes, made sure the house had band-aids and paid the bills. She came to all of my events, be they choir concerts, drama performances baseball games, soccer games, football or basketball games. I also knew she and dad would be “there”, wherever “there” happened to be. Her goal was to make sure I lived to see the next day and that I had food in my belly, books for learning, a bed to sleep in and that I knew God and his plan for my life. Her goal was also to make sure that I knew I was loved and that in due time became self-sufficient.

There were times when I didn’t like my mom very much. She told me to do things that I didn’t think I should have to do. There were other times that I wanted to do something and there was no way she was going to let me do whatever that was. I can even remember one time when I told her that she was mean and I didn’t like her anymore. I can’t remember how she responded, but I do remember that whatever she said can be translated as “Whatever”. Most of you have heard this word before. You’re familiar with the meaning. She didn’t roll her eyes or make any demeaning comments. But it was clear that my opinion of what was right was way secondary to what she knew to be the right course of action.

Most of you had similar mothers. They were probably pretty good at their jobs as well. So although I’m not willing to say that I have the best mother ever in the history of the universe and even better than Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary combined. I am willing to say that she was the best mother for me.

Thanks mom.