BEING A MOTHER....

[carmelsugamama]

After 17 years of marriage, my wife
wanted me to
take another woman out to dinner and a
movie. She
said, 'I love you, but I know this other
woman loves
you and would love to spend some time
with you.'
* * *
The other woman that my wife wanted me
to visit
was my MOTHER, who has been alone for 20
years,
but the demands of my work and my two
boys 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, aren't you well,' 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 it would be pleasant to spend
some
time with you,' I responded. 'Just the
two of us.'
She thought about it for a moment, and
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.
She had curled her hair and was wearing the
dress that she had worn to celebrate her
last
birthday on November 19th.
* * *
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 that new white van.
"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. Half way through the
entries, 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 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
mother and I had dined. An attached note
said: 'I
paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure
that I
could be there; but nevertheless, I paid
for two
plates - one for you and the other for
your wife.
You will never know what that night
meant for me.

I love you, son.'
* * *
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.'
* * *
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 driver'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 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 second
child as
much as you love the first .... somebody
doesn't
have two children.
* * *
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 kindergarten ...
or on a plane headed for military 'boot
camp.'
* * *
Somebody said a mother can stop worrying
after her
child gets married....somebody doesn't
know that
marriage adds a new son or
daughter-in-law 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.


Pass this along to all the 'mothers' in
your life
and to everyone who ever had a mother.
This isn't
just about being a mother; it's about
appreciating
the people in your life while you have
them....no
matter who that person is.

[carmelsugamama]

May. 6, 2008 at 11:10 PM

THIS POST MADE ME CRY, I'M STILL BLESSED ENOUGH TO HAVE MY MOTHER HERE ON EARTH. TO ALL THE MOTHER'S WHO DON'T I WISH YOU MUCH PEACE THIS MOTHER'S DAY!

GOD BLESS!

(Original Poster)