Gratitude on Mother’s Day for those who put child first
DEAR ABBY: I hope you will print this on Mother’s Day. This Mother’s Day greeting is for all those incredibly unselfish mothers who chose to place their child up for adoption. I am an adopted child whose life has been a wonderful journey.
If I could send a message to my birth mother, it would be one of eternal gratitude for allowing someone else to give me the life she was unable to provide. My adoptive parents love me and instilled a value system and belief in God that have carried me through every challenge life has sent my way. I never felt abandoned, but knew that I was chosen by people who were unable to have children.
There is no love like a mother’s love. That is why I want to tell all those mothers out there who gave their children to another parent to love and nurture that their sacrifice and heartache became a miracle for so many of us. God bless all of you on this Mother’s Day.
— Thankful Daughter DEAR THANKFUL DAUGHTER: I’m pleased to print your Mother’s Day greeting, and I hope it will bring comfort and reassurance to any woman out there for whom today is a reminder of a painful sacrifice.
I would also like to wish a happy Mother’s Day to mothers everywhere, be they birth mothers, adoptive and foster mothers, or stepmothers. I applaud you all.
DEAR ABBY: As graduation time approaches, I begin to shudder. Graduation ceremonies have become more like rock concerts than a time to acknowledge student achievements. Families, friends and graduates behave horribly, making it impossible to watch or listen to the proceedings. As a parent and an educator, may I please offer some graduation etiquette advice?
1. Do not yell, blow horns or leap into the air as your special graduate crosses the stage. It’s rude, immature, inappropriate and prevents those around you from hearing the names being called and seeing the next graduates. The noisemaking instruments hurt sensitive ears, so leave them at home. Your special person knows you are there and very proud.
2. Honor all of the graduates. Each one deserves the same audience as the first to cross the stage. Do not disrupt by leaving after your graduate has had his moment. Stay seated until all of them have received recognition.
3. Small children do not belong at graduations. They get bored, cry, run around, etc., and I don’t blame them. Hire a sitter and let them stay home.
4. The presenters have worked hard to prepare for the ceremony. Listen to them and behave like the mature, thoughtful adults you expect the graduates to become.
5. Have the wild party after the formal ceremony.
— Frustrated DEAR FRUSTRATED: I agree that there are certain rules of conduct that should be followed on important occasions — and a graduation ceremony is one of them. I’m printing your very basic rules of behavior in the hope that they will serve as a reminder to those who have forgotten their manners or never learned them in the first place. Dear Abby is written by Jeanne Phillips and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at Dearabby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, Calif. 90069