Mothering Day 2008

“Mothering Day”, is what they call Mother’s Day in the UK. I like that term because if you think about it a little, this is actually how and why we celebrate this day because we were ‘mothered’. Some have been mothered more and some less. Some are mothered not by actual mothers but grandmothers or great-grandmothers. I suppose mothering doesn’t always have to be done by a female. In that absence the act of mothering basically means to nurture. In my culture and lifetime I have been taught that a motherhood is probably the most precious and wonderful things that could ever be bestowed upon a woman, an honor perhaps or reward maybe. Unlike the question, “which came first the chicken or the egg”, we actually know how and when a woman becomes a mother.

I have the very fortunate life that I have because of the mother that I have. I am 37 years old and for every year of my life she has been an influence. The things that she has instilled in me carry through every day without a thought about it. We, I believe that I can speak for my brother here, have learned how to be kind, to listen to others, to go out of our way to help those in need, to love and trust Jesus and to pray. There are so many things, not to mention learning how to clean house, fold clothes, do dishes, etc. Even as a guy, these things are nice things to know when you have to keep your own home when you don’t live with mom any longer. I still learn from her today but it’s different than when I was a child. Now we can talk and laugh and continue to grow in life and she doesn’t have to tell me to wash my hands or not walk on the carpet with muddy shoes.

The other mothers in my life have included 2 grandmothers, 3 great-grandmothers and even a great-great-grandmother. All of which I am blessed to have known. As you know moms mom, Nanny that Lives By Us or a.k.a. Tiger Nanny and Granny Day are still with us and I thank the lord for that. We didn’t know that this time last year would be the last Mother’s Day we would spend with Nanny, or as Jason and affectionately referred to her as ‘Other Nanny’. She was a wonderful woman of whom I also learned many lessons. Her memories and love radiate through us all. I am thankful to have all these women in my life. I am also blessed and thankful for Suzy who is my love, not the biological mother of my child but a mother to her non-the –less. This goes back to my earlier surmise of not all mothers come to be mothers in the exact same way. She is a wonderful mother to her son Patrick who also loves her; I believe I can also speak for him. I have watched her do this alone for the last several years and can’t imagine doing that alone for all the years that she has. What strength it takes to be a mother no matter what the circumstance.

So to new mothers, old mothers, expecting mothers, single mothers I wish you all a great day and many more great “Mothering Days”.