2001-05-12 - 22:02 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

M Day

Sunday is one day of the year, that is to me one of the most important days of the year. Most Mothers will receive just a little homage from us insensitive clods who were carried by Mom -- both inside and outside her body.

I think that maybe girls get the icing on the cake, because they seem to bond more closely with both parents than boys do. Guess it is the nature of us beastly men, to challenge the dominant male of the herd. Finding out just how much dad learned while we were growing up and having children of our own and then beginning to truly love and respect him, finally lets us realize we are now grown up.

However, I guess that most of us try our best to do right by Mom for her day, while swearing under our breath that we will honor her more and do more for her each day of the year -- which sometimes happens. But not often enough I think.

Sure, us men have a day a little further on in the year, a good one usually. Most of us deserve to be honored on that day. We do our level best, but our level best keeps us away from our families a good part of the time. Often too we are cast in the role of "Enforcer," by a harried Mother who is up to her lower lip and grimly holding the fort 'til Dad gets home.

I won't sell my gender short, ever. It is just that I think Motherhood is the most holy of all things to be. Even when the Mother has to work out, she usually out-Mothers the Dad (what weird language) when she gets home. I remember my Mom when she got home from work, getting busy to finish up supper, adding touches to the stuff I had started and cooking extras along with it, making meal time special. We three ate together and held a general conversation after I reached the age of understanding.

There were, until I married even, times when I could walk to the store with Mom and do the, "Why" thing and receive lucid, gentle explanations for questions I knew would try Dad's patience. With me, learning how to communicate civilly with each parent was learned early for this guy.

There have been single Mothers we knew who were trying to be the wage earner, Mother and Father and doing a fantastic job of it.

I still watch Heather in her relations with our kids, grand kids and the greats. The love radiates from her and the kids glow in her sunshine -- and love her back, muchly. I watched her bear and raise five kids, loving each one to the max and doing for them the needful things and the things coming from her love on top of that.

Watching her and thinking back it becomes a bit clearer to me just how much she quietly does, without fanfare or uproar, out of her love for each of us. And Heather is not the only Mother in the world who is like that -- oh no -- most Mothers are like that, the difference is I guess in the ways they cope and the routines each has set up.

I read something today that I had read once before, This lady said something akin to, "Here I am working away and watching my outer heart walking around and playing away." How apt I think.

Mom's don't get enough love and or credit it looks like to me. So, I am going to try to make it great for Heather for her M Day . . . .

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