A TRIBUTE TO MOTHERS

Early every Mother’s Day, my friend, Mike, called his mother and serenaded her with the same song:

M- is for the MANY things (you) gave me,

(At this point the familiar song ended as we know it but he would go on to butcher the tune with these inane words of his own invention)

O- is for the OTHER things you gave me,
T- is for the THOUSAND things you gave me,
H- is for the HUNDRED things you gave me,
E- is for EVERYTHING you gave me,
R- is for the REST of the things you gave me.

We always got a laugh out of his annual ritual but as funny as his song was, it acknowledged the giving nature of motherhood and I think his mother really did appreciate his well-meaning recognition and attention.

A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, suddenly announces that she never did care for pie. I didn’t realize it when I was young but my mother’s life was all about hard work and sacrifice, not for her own self-satisfaction, or self-actualization, but for her seven children. Not until I became a parent and I saw my wife doing the same things, did I understand just how much mothers sacrifice for their children. That’s what mothers do; that’s what motherhood is all about.

Just about the time a mother thinks her work is done, she becomes a grandmother. My wife and I have eight grandchildren and one great-grandson, and the giving never stops. Just as my mother gave to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, my wife continues to give to our children and our grandchildren. I think God created mothers to demonstrate something of His love and sacrifice for His children.

William Thackeray said, “Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.”

Happy Mothers Day!