Mother's Day

By Karl Edmunds ::

For most seniors and grandparents, the annual celebration of motherhood stirs up a lifetime of memories. Abraham Lincoln reminded all of us of the powerful role our mothers play in our lives when he said, “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.”

Not a person alive can honestly say they have no influence from their mothers. Our mothers have been an inner voice of inspiration, personal direction and sheer power that simply can’t be duplicated by any other.

Setting a specific day each year to reflect on the sacrifice of our mothers, to think about how we can express ourselves in a personal letter, to try and find just the right gift is a worthwhile ritual for all of us.

For many families, Mother’s Day is no longer just a celebration with our direct mother, but now may involve a grandmother and great grandmother. Never before in our history have families celebrated motherhood with three and sometimes four living generations.

Hopefully for seniors, we can all participate in celebration with our children who are now mothers. As grandparents, we can also focus on making positive memories for our grandchildren. We can strive to be a source of happy memories, a place for good food and fun, a place of security and a place for unconditional love, affection and acceptance.

As an old Italian Proverb says, “If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.” Or in the wise words of Lois Wyse, “A mother becomes a true grandmother the day she stops noticing the terrible things her children do because she is so enchanted with the wonderful things her grandchildren do.” This will be a good measure of our value in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

Not everyone has wonderful and perfect memories of their mother, but perhaps on this Mother’s Day we can commit to release some of the old unhealed wounds. Maybe it can be a day where we commit to see only the good and refrain from reacting to old behaviors and comments.

If your mother is no longer living but regrets persist, perhaps this Mother’s Day could be a day to write a letter that expresses your feelings and emotions in the most honest and loving way you can. Just the act of writing the letter will give relief and comfort. Healing will occur.

My final reflection about Mother’s Day is best expressed in the prayerful words of Gaynell Bordes Cronin when he wrote:

I love you, Mom. I love your aliveness,
your joy in living, your understanding,
your giving.
And what I love best of all
is that you love me.
God of all Mothers,
thank you for my mom!

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About The Author

For more than 20 years, Karl Edmunds has been a noted author within the business and management consulting arena. As a senior, he now engages his curiosity and observations about life to write about key issues of importance to the growing community of seniors (Boomers), and the value of living life to the fullest every single day. Give me your comments and suggests at http://For-Seniors.org