BEING A MOTHER

BEING A MOTHER

After 21 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 a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three
children 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, are 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 that it would be pleasant to spend sometime 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 with her coat on. She
had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to
celebrate her last wedding anniversary.

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 the car. 'They can't wait to hear
about our meeting.'

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 entrees, 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 mostly catching up on recent events in 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,
it was 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 'good' mothers never raise their voices...Somebody never
came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball
through the neighbor's kitchen window.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother...Somebody
never helped a fourth grader with their 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 a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing
questions in books...Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose
or M&M's in her ears.

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 do her job with her eyes closed and one hand
tied behind her back ...Somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies
to sell cookies.

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.