Mother's Day thoughts

This week's editorial from The News of Orange County

One day is not enough for special women
This Sunday, for the 26th time in her life, my mother will be celebrated, honored and appreciated. I hope all of those things have happened more than 26 times in her life, but they are guaranteed to happen this Sunday, during her 26th May as a mother. Like most children, I can only imagine, looking back on almost 26 years, all the grief I caused the poor woman. (And, though I'd like to think differently, there's probably more grief coming.) I'm at least partly responsible for some of the grey hairs, but I'd be willing to bet that my brothers caused more.

There are few people that I respect more than my mother. The daughter of tobacco farmers, she has worked hard all of her life. I'm not sure, but she would probably tell you that raising four children, separated by less than seven years, may have been even harder than pulling tobacco. However, there were few times when she ever let it show. She was a soccer mom before there were “soccer moms,” driving the four of us around everywhere we needed to go or helping with school projects. She coached a few of our basketball teams, volunteered in each of our schools and even served eight years on the school board.

Impressive as all of that is, I love my mother for the quiet things she has done - the discussions we've had on religion, philosophy or politics and allowing me to develop my own opinions and beliefs. She has challenged me to be more than I thought possible, and she never fails to show how proud she is.

She only gets one day a year, but she has made every one of mine special.

Twenty-six years ago, I made my mom a parent. She made herself a Mother. Happy Mother's Day, mom.

(P.S. We made special sweatshirts for Christmas last year in honor of the horrible sweatshirts my grandmother made us wear for family portraits when we were young.)