Happy Mother’s Day!

We are going to share this Mother’s Day celebration with those of you who have wished to share a memory of something that they have learned from their Mother.
Before we start. I found some universal Mother’s Wisdom that might sound familiar:

Subject: What My Mother Taught Me
1. My mother taught me RELIGION. “You’d better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
2. My mother taught me TIME TRAVEL. “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
3. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. “Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”
4. My mother taught me IRONY. “Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”
5. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. “Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”
6. My mother taught me about WEATHER. “This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”
7. My mother taught me about ENVY. “There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.”
8. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. “Just wait until we get home.”
9. My mother taught me about RECEIVING. “You are going to get it when you get home!”
10. My mother taught me HUMOUR. “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
11. My mother taught me WISDOM. “When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
12. My mother taught me about JUSTICE. “One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you”.

Five people have offered to share some wisdom from their Mothers, so…here goes:

Celeste, Carole, Joel, Karen, Bronwen

I have learned many things from Mom…from how an Italian measures spices…just a little (showing the fingers moving over a pinch) to how strong she really was even when it didn’t seem so. My Mom was 5 ft tall and mostly hovering around 100 lbs. give or take 5 lbs. Yet she survived many, many things no one should have to face.
As a teen and young adult, I didn’t see that. And it took me awhile to realize how strong she really was, how it was her who held the family together until later, when Dad finally became responsible and became a father to the younger kids. But even then, it was Mom who always did what needed to be done.
And so, I spent most of my adult life, trying to get to really know her, to understand her, to learn from her and to help her realize how strong, how intelligent, how wonderful she really was.

Paulo Coelho wrote, “Tears are words that need to be written.”
I have many tears yet to be shed for my Mother; but they won’t all be sad tears, there will be many happy ones too. Tears of the joy and love and laughter we shared.
So, Happy Mother’s Day to all who have Mothered us on our journey. No matter who you are or who or what you have Mothered, THANK YOU.

“I give thanks for the motherly love of God in all its human expressions!”

Inhale and silently affirm “I am the inlet to [exhale] and the outlet for the Divine, the Infinite.”