Reflections of Mom. Her Love, Caring, and Cutting Switches

She cooked. She cleaned. She gave birth to you. Those are just 3 things moms do and have done for us. They work tirelessly whether they are a stay at home mom, a blue-collar mom or a professional. Their job of raising us is difficult and much of the time goes without thanks. Not that we as her children are completely unappreciative of what she does. That’s just life. We take things for granted then once a year we celebrate the things she has done. “Here mom. Here’s a card and dinner. Thank you for your mothering us. Now on to my problems that I need your help with.” We really do owe her more.

When it comes to a list of things our mother’s have done for us the biggest is birth. Obviously if not for that we wouldn’t be here. If she hadn’t endured 9 months of lugging us around in her belly, dealing with sickness, sore feet and a myriad of other things that I, as a guy, don’t even want to know about, we would not be here to continue her pain as a constant pain in her side. She cleaned up after us. Both the diapers and other messes we made. She stepped barefooted onto numerous Lego’s, spent thousands of dollars on clothes that had a lifespan of less than 6 months, and in the case of my mother, became an expert at driving a 1977 Ford LTD while flailing a hand at me in the back seat because I had done something worthy of immediate punishment. She did this with a Winston in her mouth that never lost an ash. A truly remarkable feat.

As we got older we became more self-sufficient. Did this take some of the load off of her? No. We just developed new ways to make things more difficult for her. Particularly because now we had the ability to talk. This meant a steady stream of questions from our constantly moving lips and at times those lips had sass talk back from us that was met with a stern look and possibly being told to go cut a switch. As we entered our teens we added eye rolling into our repertoire as well as the occasional outburst and screams because we weren’t allowed to stay over at a friends house or given the money for the latest Huey Lewis and The News album. The horror!

Now, all the while she is raising us she is dealing with all of the unseen things that we hadn’t a care in the world about. Keeping us safe, working, raising us, paying bills, putting dinner on the table and trying to keep sane. Things that we had no concept of until we left our loving nests and walked in to the real world of life. Take a look at what your mother has done for you. The years of raising, educating and nurturing to make us who we are today. It is amazing what a mother does for her children. Take these things into account. Don’t just send mom a card this year. And don’t just take her to dinner. She deserves so much more. After the card and dinner sit down with her. Tell her how you feel and how appreciative you are for her love and everything she has done for you. Does she live out of town? Write her a letter. No, not an email! That’s impersonal. Get a pen and paper. Write an actual letter. Mail it. She will cherish that and it will mean the world to her. She’s a mother. Your mother. Tell her you love her. Do for her as she has for you. Take care of her as she gets older. Be her child. Be the rock for her as she has been for you.

About Author

Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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