Mother's Day

As we approach Mother's Day each year, all mothers, no matter what their age, grow nostalgic. It matters not what age your children are, memories of them when they were young fill your heart with great fondness. You see, as time passes you remember the good things and the good times with much greater clarity than you remember the bad. Somehow that seems to be built into mothers...

There have always been two short features that Erma Bombeck published that were great favorites of mine, and which still bring tears to my eyes. I no longer have to hunt and hunt, digging out the faded and torn, well-worn scraps of newspaper to have them at hand now! They rest securely in my computer, looking fresh each time I yearn to see them again and refresh my memory. I would like to share them with you for Mother's Day, and hope you will think they are special too, and share them with your friends and family.

When God Created Mothers

When the good Lord was creating mothers, he was into his sixth day of

overtime, when an angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling

around on this one."

And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this one? She has to be

completely washable, but not plastic; have 180 moveable parts, all

replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that disappears when she stands up,

a kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a

disappointed love affair, and six pair of hands."

."The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way."

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord."It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have."

"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks,

"What are you kids doing in there?" when she already knows.

Another here, in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't, but what she has to know,

and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up

and say, "I understand and I love you," without so much as uttering a word."

"Lord,"said the angel, touching his sleeve gently,

"Rest for now. Tomorrow..."

"I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creating something close to myself.

Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick, can feed a family of six

on one pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower."

The angel circled the model of the mother very slowly. "She's too soft," she sighed.

"But tough!" said the Lord excitedly.

"You cannot imagine what the mother can do or endure."

"Can she think?"

"Not only think, but she can reason and compromise," said the Creator.

Finally the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.

"There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you, you were trying to put too much

into this model."

"It's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear."

"What's it for?"

"It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness and pride."

"You're a genius," said the angel.

The Lord looked somber, "I didn't put it there."

(Erma Bombeck)

I Loved You Enough.....

Some day when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent,
I will tell them:

I loved you enough to ask where you were going, with whom,
and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to insist that you save your money and buy a bike for yourself even though we could afford to buy one for you.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to make you take a Milky Way back to the drugstore (with a bite out of it) and tell the clerk, "I stole this yesterday and want to pay for it."

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room,

a job that would have taken me just 15 minutes.

I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment and tears in my eyes.

Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.

I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

But most of all, I loved you enough to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.

Erma Bombeck

Home Email

March, 2000