Today is a day to honor and celebrate mothers; those that are here with us today and those who have passed. It’s a day to show appreciation for all the things our mothers have done for us. They worked tirelessly to love us, protect us, coach us, and worry about us. They made some mistakes along the way, we all do, but we recognize how hard that job was and how difficult we often made it for them.
We also want to recognize and honor those mothers who never had children. You know the ones I’m talking about, the ones that have spent their entire lives helping and taking care of others. They’ve treated so many like their own children and sacrificed so much to step in and help whenever or wherever needed.
Mother’s Day gives us a chance to make up for all the times we should have visited, but were too busy; for all the calls we should have made, but never found the time. It doesn’t clean the slate, but it helps.
On this Mother’s Day, I’d like to issue a challenge. I challenge you to make an effort to spend more time with your mother or at least call her a little more this year. Instead of making Mother’s Day one special day, make every day this year Mother’s Day.
Like so many people, I wish I had spent more time with my mother or called more often. I was so caught up in my own life that I barely had time to stay in contact. Visits started out pretty regular, but gradually the time between visits lengthened. Weekly calls turned into every other week or sometimes even longer. The bad part was, we lived in the same city. Then, one day, she was gone. I so regret that I didn’t make more time for her.
Don’t be a Greg. Spend more time with your mother while you can. Someday you’ll no longer have that opportunity. Let her know how much you love her each and every day, not just once a year.
Sometimes when the fatigue and aches of Myasthenia Gravis are getting me down, I think about all the pain my mother was going through in her last years. She didn’t have MG, but she had a host of health problems, yet she tried her hardest never to let on that they were bothering her. I remember visiting her once, showing up unannounced, and finding her sitting on the couch crying. The pain she was experiencing was unbearable. As she wiped away the tears, she stood, ran over to hug me and asked if I was hungry. That’s what moms do. They put aside their own pain and problems to take care of you and show you how much they love you.
If you’re a mother, Happy Mother’s Day. I hope your family truly appreciates all you do and all you have done. I encourage you to keep mothering by reminding us when visits or calls are too infrequent. Let your thoughts be known. We need reminders. No matter how old we are, we still need guidance.
For everyone else, honor your mother this Mother’s Day, but don’t stop there. Make sure you take advantage of the time you have left with your mother. It may seem like you’re too busy, it may seem like a burden, but we always find time for the things that are really important to us. Besides, one day you’ll recognize what a blessing she was.