On Mothers

For finding your mother, there's one certain test. You must look for the creature who loves you the best."

From "Little Miss Spider" by David Kirk

I like this quote, and I certainly find it to be true in my own life and the lives of my children. I have the world's greatest mother (who doesn't even know I have a blog lest you think I am buttering her up!) who always made me feel as if I could do anything. I still think that most days. I try to remember all of the things she said to me that made me feel that way, but I can never think of anything specific. The things I remember her saying are things like, What a life, what a war! and Life's not fair. Hardly the inspiring you to do anything quotes. I suppose it was more in the way she lived, then, always believing in me. She was always happy for my successes, and she never acted surprised over any accolades I might receive. Believe me, I have thought about it in an attempt to recreate that feeling of confidence for my own children. Hopefully, they have gotten a bit of it through osmosis. I remember the day Tony was about 5 or 6 days old, and I was in Hawaii, and Mama hadn't come out to see me yet. I called her and told her I thought I was wasting time, that I needed to be teaching him something. (can you believe any of my children turned out semi-normal?) She told me I was teaching him that I would always be there when he cried. That is a pretty awesome responsibility, that being there whenever someone cries. I know my mother would still be there for me if I were crying, and I hope my children know the same thing when they are parents, too.
Happy Mother's Day- tell your mother that you love her if you still can.