Sunday, May 13, 2007

Happy Mothers' Day! - With annoying update

I get a lot of email - Too much frankly, even after the anti-spam machine does its wonderful work. Therefore, I rarely read those cute little forwarded messages about dogs, cats, platitudes and all things under the sun that apparently make life so beautiful.

This one did catch my eye though. It was forwarded by my sister, who also rarely reads or forwards them. I thought I'd post it today, and let all the Moms out there see if any items apply to them. I sure found a few.



For all My Favourite Mothers.


This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes. (- Happy Mothers' Day, Sandy!)

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.


This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.


For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomachaches assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. RIGHT AWAY!.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

This is for all the step-mothers who raised another woman's child or children, and gave their time, attention, and love... sometimes totally unappreciated!

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year-olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.


What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart?

Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M . when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation... And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us. Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can.


Tell them every day that we love them. And pray. Please pass along to all the Moms in your life.


Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall.



If you didn't see yourself in here somewhere, chances are you're not a mother.

Happy Mothers' Day.


* * * *

UPDATE: And under the category of How Low Can You Go?, we have this lovely tidbit from Liberal MP Garth Turner, complaining about the "clogging up" of Parliament Hill by the Pro-Life March this past week, and assorted other mud-flinging.

Nice. On Mothers' Day. Way to go, Garth. What class. I can't believe you.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joanne true blue:

Yes, I got that one also, and I read every bit of it.
Thank you for giving it wider view.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY FROM ONE HAPPY MOTHER TO ANOTHER, AND YOU ARE A GREAT AND GIFTED ON AS WELL!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Thank you Mary. You are my favourite Mother. ;)

Anonymous said...

Every time I read this, I get a tear in my eye. Truer words were never written!

Happy mother's day to all mother's who stop here, and many thanks to Joanne for providing this wonderful blog for us!

Roy Eappen said...

Happy Mother's Day to you Joanne and all mothers.

Anonymous said...

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers everywhere, especially the mothers of those serving us overseas.

Also, Happy Mother's day to those who "mother"....:-)...in some cases, that might be a single father, or someone replacing the mothering that isn't there for a child because of circumstances, etc....anyway, I'm sure you get my drift.

raz

Anonymous said...

Best Wishes to All Mothers!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

many thanks to Joanne for providing this wonderful blog for us!

Thanks, Barbara, for helping to make this blog what it is. I couldn't do it without all the support.


Thanks, Roy & Raz.

Also, Happy Mother's day to those who "mother"....:-)...in some cases, that might be a single father

So true. In fact it might be a gay couple. Happy Mothers' Day to all that nurture and give of themselves to children.

Anonymous said...

Happy Mothers' Day, Joanne!

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Thanks, L.S.! I appreciate that very non-partisan comment. ;)

Anonymous said...

Why ruin a perfectly lovely day with thoughts of the "Media Diva par excellence"?

Just because he wears high-heeled cowboy boots doesn't make him the tallest upstanding citizen in Ottawa.
He merely continues to be a legend in his own mind. Let him linger in that delusion

Canadianna said...

Very nice. Happy Mothers' Day.

Anonymous said...

Very nice indeed. I realize that it is a day for mothers and I respect that. As a father and a grandfather I saw myself there too. I also did a lot of these things with my children. On this day I remove my hat to all mothers, and think fondly of my own mother...

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Gabby, my Mom & I both read your comment together when she was over here. We had a good chuckle together.

Canadianna & Agree - Thanks so much. Yes, Dads and Grandfathers can be nurturing too. I really think that is where things have changed for the better; that Dad's are so much more plugged in than they used to be. Good for the family as a whole. God bless.

Red Tory said...

Did you know that Mother’s Day started as a peace movement? It's true!

The original Mother's Day Proclamation was made in 1870. It was written by Julia Ward Howe. Julia Ward Howe is perhaps best known today for having written the words to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" in 1862 when she was an antislavery activist. The original Proclamation was an impassioned call for peace and disarmament. In the years following the Civil War her political activism increased, as did her condemnation of war.

Here are the words:

"Arise then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be of water or of tears!

"Say firmly": 'We will not have questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We women of one country will be too tender to those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own, it says "Disarm! Disarm!" The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.'

"As men have forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his time the sacred impress not of Caesar, but of God.

"In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace."


How about that? The wonderful things we learn on the Internets.

Joanne (True Blue) said...

Red - How about that. Here I thought Hallmark had started it!

Red Tory said...

Apparently, she spent the last several years of her life railing against the commercialization of the day.