A Mothers' Tribute
After 21 years of marriage, I
discovered a new way of keeping alive the spark of love.
A little while ago, I started to go out with another woman. It
was really my wife's idea.
"I know that you love her," she said one day, taking
me by surprise. "But I love YOU," I protested. "I know, but you also love her."
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my
mother, who has been a widow for 19 years. The demands of my
work and my three children had made it possible to visit her
only occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a
movie.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" she asked. My
mother is the type of
woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise
invitation is a sign of bad news.
"I thought that it would be nice to spend some time with
you," I responded.
"Just the two of us?" She thought about it for a
moment, then said, "I would like
that very much."
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I
was a bit nervous.
When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too,
seemed to be nervous about our
"date." She waited in the door with her coat on --
ready to go!
She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she
had worn to celebrate her last wedding
anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an
angel's.
"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my
son, and they were impressed," she
said, as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear
about our 'date."
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very
nice and cozy.
My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After
we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large
print.
Halfway through the entrees, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom
sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her
lips.
"It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were
small," she said.
"Then it's time that you relax and let me return the
favor," I responded.
During the dinner we had an agreeable conversation --
nothing very extraordinary -- but
catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked
so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house
later, she said, "I'll go out with
you again -- but only if you let me invite you."
I agreed.
"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I
got home.
"Very nice. Much more so than I could have
imagined," I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack.
It happened so suddenly that I didn't
have a chance to do anything for her.
Some time later I received an envelope with a copy of a
restaurant receipt from the same place
my mother and I had dined. An attached note read:
"Son, I paid this bill in advance. I was almost sure
that I couldn't be there; but,
nevertheless, I paid for two plates -- one for you and the
other for your lovely wife. You will never know what that
night meant for me. I love you."
At that moment I understood the importance of saying, in
time: "I Love You" and to give
our loved ones the TIME that they deserve.
Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give
them the TIME they deserve -- because
these things cannot be put off till "some other
time."
Facts that Mothers Will Appreciate:
Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal
after you've
had a baby . . .
Somebody doesn't know that, once you're a mother,
"Normal" is history.
Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct . . .
Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.
Somebody said being a mother is boring . . .
Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a
learner's permit.
Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your
child will "turn out good . . ."
Somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a
guarantee.
Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their
voices . . .
Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see
her child hit a
golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen window.
Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother .
. .
Somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.
Somebody said you can't love the fifth child as much as you
love the first . . .
Somebody doesn't have five children.
Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her
child-rearing questions
in the books . . .
Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in
his ears.
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and
delivery....
Somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus
for the first day of school
or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."
Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and
one hand
tied behind her back . . .
Somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell
cookies.
Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets
married . . .
Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new
"son" or "daughter"
to a mother's heartstrings.
Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child
leaves home . . .
Somebody never had grandchildren.
Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't
need to tell
her . . .
Somebody isn't a mother.
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In Memory of My Sweet
Mother
In
tears we saw you sinking,
And watched you pass away.
Our hearts were almost broken,
We wanted you to stay.
But when we saw you sleeping,
So peaceful, free from pain,
How could we wish you back with us,
To suffer that again.
It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you did not go alone,
For part of us went with you,
The day God took you home.
If Roses grow in Heaven,
Lord please pick a bunch for me,
Place them in my Mother's arms
and tell her they're from me.
Tell her I love her and miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for awhile.
Because remembering her is easy,
I do it every day,
but there's an ache within my heart
that will never go away.
Don't think of her as gone away
Her journey's just begun
Life holds so many facets
This earth is only one
Just think of her as resting
From the sorrows and the tears
In a place of warmth and comfort
Where there are no days and years
Think how she must be wishing
That we could know, today
Now nothing but our sadness
Can really pass away
And think of her as living
In the hearts of those she touched
For nothing loved is ever lost
And she is loved so very much.
Anonymous
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