Happy Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day 2009 at 5:50 a.m. I received an email from my dear classmate of first grade, Carole McReynolds Davis, five years before she died in 2014. It read: “Dear Ruth,

Up early on this 2009 Mother’s day. I am reminded of so many Mother’s Days so many years ago of going to grandmother’s home, The Rose Patch on University Drive picking out a beautiful red rose from an old bucket. She had also gotten up early and gone outside in her yard, both front and back, covered with her exquisite roses and picked for each of us - all of her many grandchildren - red and a few white roses for some of the daughters-in-laws to have to wear to church. We all lined up on her big couch sitting close together for a photo proudly displaying for grandmother our own rose that we carefully selected to wear on up to First Presbyterian Church for Mother’s Day Sunday.

I like you, miss the only mother we shall ever have. Will drive by the cemetery to momma’s, daddy’s, granny’s and my granddaddy’s plot to say a little prayer for each of them later this Sunday.

I hope you too have a nice Mother’s Day. These holidays will never quite be the same again without our parents and grandparents.

We both had the greatest models of motherhood we could ever have. I miss mine and I know you miss yours too. Love,

Carole”

I saw Bobby McReynolds in the store as I was selecting Mother’s Day cards. I told him what I was writing for Sunday and he said he remembered that and that he had some of his grandmother’s roses from the Rose Patch on University Drive.

The following editorial in 2013 from the Cleveland, Ohio newspaper expresses my thoughts better than I and it is reprinted here.

“Every one of us owes our existence to our mothers. If it weren’t for our mothers giving birth to us, we would not be here today.

But serving as the needed vessel by which we were all brought into this world is far from the only way in which our mothers have been there for us. They fed us, nursed us and took care of all our needs when we were infants. They were there to heal our wounds when we injured ourselves and offer gentle comfort when we were feeling down, even if they themselves were hurting.

As we grew older, they were there to lend an ear when we wanted to talk about our day at school. They were willing to listen to our desperate pleas for them to get us whatever the latest fad was at that time, even if we never got those gadgets for which we longed. They served as sounding boards for us when we needed to vent after having a particularly bad day.

They shed a tear when we headed out of their warm, loving embraces and into the cold, uncertain world. They longed to hear about our journeys in life, but they longed even more for the time when we would return to their homes, even if but for a few hours on a Sunday. They eagerly anticipated the times when we would bring our children over so they could spoil them just as our grandmothers spoiled us.

They were always able to provide us with sound advice when we needed it. We may not have recognized it at the time, but as we have grown wiser over time, we have realized Mom’s advice was sage and we were foolish for not heeding it more in our younger years.

For all these reasons and so many more, we pay tribute to our moms this Sunday on Mother’s Day, but no card, floral bouquet or dinner at a restaurant can come close to properly repaying our mothers for all they did for us throughout our lives. This is not to say we should forego these traditional gifts and expressions of gratitude this weekend, but we should show our gratitude to our mothers more than just on Mother’s Day.

A simple phone call letting her know how you are doing and letting her know how important she is to you can be done at any time, and is greatly appreciated at all times. Taking Mom out to dinner on Mother’s Day is a nice gesture, but inviting her over to your house and cooking for her is just as nice, and less expensive. That as well can be done at any point during the year and should not be reserved solely for this weekend For those of us whose mothers are no longer with us, say a little prayer for them — on Mother’s Day and throughout the year. Spending a few quiet moments reflecting on all she did for you when she was alive can rekindle happy memories in you and will keep her memory alive and well.

Mother’s Day is a nice occasion to thank your mother for everything she did for you over the years. It should certainly not be the only occasion in which you offer her thanks for all she has done. She deserves so much more than that.”

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there.