She's somebody's mother

In Loving Memory on this Mother's Day 2010

For many of us our mothers have been gone for years yet they live on in our hearts, in our daily lives, in the actions we take, the decisions we make based upon the early training we received from our moms on what it means to be a mother. Even the simplest things a mother does such as choosing the burnt toast for herself in order to give the perfectly toasted slices to the children create an impression, a lifelong impact that will be felt in other ways that demonstrate the spirit of self-sacrifice for the children. It is simply a mother's love.

One of the best lessons I learned from my mother when I was about 10 years old occurred as we were driving down a city street when Mama pulled the car to a stop to allow an elderly lady cross in the middle of the street, where there was no crosswalk. It was puzzling to me that the woman had stepped out into the street where there was no crosswalk, and also puzzling that Mama stopped to allow her to cross and waited patiently as she slowly made her way all the way across the street and safely up onto the sidewalk. Mama turned to me as we waited and explained quite simply and directly, "She's somebody's mother." That was a profound lesson in respect that I learned not at my mother's knee, but there in the car that day. Simple as that. "She's somebody's mother." What a lesson that was in respect for the aging and elderly.

Today among the dozens of obituaries n The News Tribune, there are many, many women. Reading through them gives me pause as I look back and remember what Mama told me more than fifty years ago, "She's somebody's mother." http://tinyurl.com/249qhbb