Thanks Mom

Judith Viorst once wrote an essay based on interviews she had with children. The subject was “What’s a good mother like?”

Viorst reports that the children expected their mother to get angry from time to time. “She has to,” said Ted, “or she’ll faint from holding it in.”

“But it’s best to remember,” said Randy, “that when your mother starts to act real weird, you have to look scared and serious. Don’t giggle. When mommies are mad, they get madder if you giggle.”

“My mommy got so mad,” said Megan, “that she yanked the plate off the table and all the mashed potatoes flew into the air.”

“And why,” Viorst asked, pretending she’d never heard of such shocking behavior, “why would a mother do a thing like that?”

“Well,” said Megan, “she told my older brother, Mike-‑he’s 11 years old-‑to eat the potatoes on his plate and he said ‘Later.’ And then she told him again to eat the potatoes and Mike said ‘Soon.’ And then she told him he had better eat those potatoes right now and he said, ‘In a minute.’ And then she stood up and Mike finally took a bite and told her, ‘How can I eat them? They’re cold!’” (2)

It’s not easy being a Mom.

A stay-at-home Mom went to a PTA meeting and her husband and her oldest daughter got together and decided they would clean up the kitchen for her. So they did. They put up all the food, wiped all the counters, washed all the pots and put them away, put the dishes in the dishwasher and ran it. They swept and mopped the floors and then sat down, and overcome by their own nobility, they awaited her arrival.

Two hours later she returned from the meeting, took off her coat, hung it up, walked through the kitchen into the den, grabbed the remote control, and began watching television. They followed her over to her chair and stood by her side. Finally she felt them looking over her shoulder and looked up at them and said, “What?”

Her husband said, “The kitchen.”

“The kitchen. What?”

“The kitchen. We cleaned up the kitchen. Didn’t you notice? It’s sparkling clean. We cleaned it for you.”

The woman replied, “Yes, I noticed. Thankless job, isn’t it?”

Well, sometimes being a Mom is a thankless job. That’s why we honor them with a special day. Mother’s Day is our opportunity to say a much deserved, “Thank you.”