Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there and to all the children who have or had good mothers! Is there any blessing to compare to a wonderful mother who loves you without reservation and yet knows you’re not perfect so she’s willing to invest some time and loving discipline on you? The greatest gift we can give our children is their independence, but sometimes it’s hard watching them fly away from the nest where we’ve done our best to keep them safe and moderately happy. I don’t think we should take upon our shoulders any other person’s happiness. We can be happy together. We can be happy for them. We have to teach our kids how to find happiness on their own. They’re not ever going to be satisfied with happiness we try to plant inside them. They have to grow their own.
And yet it is sometimes so hard to watch our babies try their wings and fly right into storms or take off following the wrong flight pattern. We know they need to veer to the left or right and if we were only with them, we could tell them that. But we can’t follow them every day of their lives. We have to let them go and when we do, we see them making mistakes the same as they’ve done all their lives. The same as we’ve done all our lives. Mistakes and messing up are part of a human being’s make-up. We wish they were something we could avoid. Something we could help our children avoid. But the obstacles of life trip all of us up at times. So what can we do when our children are old enough to be on their own? We can pray for them. We can share in their joys and their sorrows. We can keep on loving them just as much as we always have. We can hope they will grow strong in character and abilities. We can give them the benefit of our experience, but don’t be surprised if they smile and pretend to listen while holding mental hands over their ears. We had to learn on our own, making some painful mistakes in the process and so do our children. But we always want to help them. That’s what mamas do.
I did my speech at the Paul Sawyier Library. The place was nice. The library there is a great facility. I took prizes and trivia fun. The lady who invited me to come was super sweet and kind. Just one thing went wrong, everybody forgot to show up. The weather was lousy and I don’t blame people for wanting to stay in where it was dry and warm. I did have a couple of friends show up, so they let me practice my speaking abilities on them. I guess I’d better wait until I’m more famous or have more friends before the next outing. Still we had fun and as with writing where every new story adds to our storytelling experience, every speaking opportunity adds to my speaking experience and maybe my speaking ability. I enjoy speaking to people, but I have remind myself that if the Lord wants me to do this along with my writing, He will open the doors. He’s certainly been opening some doors for me with my writing.
It’s wet and chilly here today. Yesterday was fantastic – warm and sunny. But today we’re having locust winter. The locust trees are beautiful this year. In bloom big time. I have yet to catch a whiff of their sweet scent. I guess it’s been too rainy. But I’m going to grab a bloom to smell before all the petals blow away on the wind.
Hope all of you have a great week. And thanks for being great mothers.