You’re all familiar with the joke . . . Three days each year all churches are “CME” Churches, because we tend to have higher attendance on Christmas, Mother’s Day and Easter. Be that as it may, Mother’s Day probably elicits a wider variety of emotions and memories than do the others.
For me, Mother’s Day is a bitter-sweet day. The Thursday before Mother’s Day in 2009, my mother was diagnosed with what would become terminal cancer. While you may think you have the “best mom in the world”, I’m pretty sure that title belongs to mine. Life, indeed, goes on and since her death, I have been “adopted” as an adult by my wonderful stepmother who, in turn, has been adopted by us as our “Meme”. Consequently, I have many “phases” of Mother’s Day to celebrate, and I find that even now, over a decade later, especially on days like this, mom is intensely missed.
Some share stories similar to mine, others never had the opportunity to know or enjoy life with their mom, and still others may have experienced an adversarial relationship with their mother. Nevertheless; it’s ok that Mother’s Day stimulates such a wide array of emotions and memories; after all, we each approach this special day from every conceivable angle and at different seasons of our and our mother’s lives and “celebration” may not always be part of the equation at that particular moment.
One of my favorite experiences from Mother’s Day this year was taking my daughters shopping for gifts for their mom. They thought she needed everything from a swimming pool to stuffed teddy bears . . . neither of which did she get, yet her goodie bag turned out quite well, all things considered. Really, my favorite part of Mother’s Day this year was watching my daughters deliver their mom’s gift bag. I’m quite sure you can easily imagine the scene as they proceeded to open it for her, showing her everything they had picked out - while retelling every detail of the shopping experience - then the best part of all - “Momma, will you open your candy, we would like to try it.” To see the sweet interactions between Momma and daughters is an enduring and heartwarming gift, the image of which is forever etched on the heart.
So, what is the point of all these ramblings about Mother’s Day? Mother’s Day looks and feels different for each of us and, indeed, changes over time. Nevertheless; there is no single person capable of making a bigger impact on a child’s life than their mother. May we all make the most of and cherish the gifts God gives to us, in whatever form they may come.
To quote a legend . . . “Call your Momma. I wish I could call mine."
For me, Mother’s Day is a bitter-sweet day. The Thursday before Mother’s Day in 2009, my mother was diagnosed with what would become terminal cancer. While you may think you have the “best mom in the world”, I’m pretty sure that title belongs to mine. Life, indeed, goes on and since her death, I have been “adopted” as an adult by my wonderful stepmother who, in turn, has been adopted by us as our “Meme”. Consequently, I have many “phases” of Mother’s Day to celebrate, and I find that even now, over a decade later, especially on days like this, mom is intensely missed.
Some share stories similar to mine, others never had the opportunity to know or enjoy life with their mom, and still others may have experienced an adversarial relationship with their mother. Nevertheless; it’s ok that Mother’s Day stimulates such a wide array of emotions and memories; after all, we each approach this special day from every conceivable angle and at different seasons of our and our mother’s lives and “celebration” may not always be part of the equation at that particular moment.
One of my favorite experiences from Mother’s Day this year was taking my daughters shopping for gifts for their mom. They thought she needed everything from a swimming pool to stuffed teddy bears . . . neither of which did she get, yet her goodie bag turned out quite well, all things considered. Really, my favorite part of Mother’s Day this year was watching my daughters deliver their mom’s gift bag. I’m quite sure you can easily imagine the scene as they proceeded to open it for her, showing her everything they had picked out - while retelling every detail of the shopping experience - then the best part of all - “Momma, will you open your candy, we would like to try it.” To see the sweet interactions between Momma and daughters is an enduring and heartwarming gift, the image of which is forever etched on the heart.
So, what is the point of all these ramblings about Mother’s Day? Mother’s Day looks and feels different for each of us and, indeed, changes over time. Nevertheless; there is no single person capable of making a bigger impact on a child’s life than their mother. May we all make the most of and cherish the gifts God gives to us, in whatever form they may come.
To quote a legend . . . “Call your Momma. I wish I could call mine."
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