Heartwarming
After
21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take
another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said,
"I love you, but I know this other woman loves you
and would love to spend some time with you."
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was
my mother, who had been a widow for 19 years, but the
demands of my work and my 3 children had made it
possible to visit her only occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner
and a movie. "What's wrong, are you well?" She asked.
My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a
late night call or surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
"I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some
time with you," I responded. Just the two of us."
She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I
would like that very much."
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up
I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed
that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She
waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her
hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to
celebrate her last wedding anniversary.
She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an
Angel's! "I told my friends that I was going to
go out with my son, and they were impressed,"
she said, as she got into the car. "They can't wait to
hear about our meeting."
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant,
was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as
if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to
read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print.
Halfway through the entrees, I lifted my eyes and saw
Mom sitting there staring at me.
A nostalgic smile was on her lips. "It was I who used
to have to read the menu when you we re small," she said.
"Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor," I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation--
nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events
of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed
the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said,
"I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you."
I agreed.
"How was your dinner date?" Asked my wife when I got
home. "Very nice. Much more so than I could have
imagined," I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart
attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a
chance to do anything for her. Some time later,
I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant
receipt from the same place where mother and I had
dined.
An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I
wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless
I paid for two plates-- one for you and the other for
your wife. You will never know what that night meant
for me. I love you, son."
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying
in time: "I love you," and to give our loved ones the
time that they deserve.
Nothing in life is more important than your family.
Give them the time they deserve, because these things
cannot be put off 'til "some other time."
Somebody said it takes about 6 weeks to get back to
normal after you've had a baby . . Somebody doesn't
know that once you're a mother, "normal" is history.
Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct.
Somebody never took a 3-year-old shopping.
Somebody said being a mother is boring . . . Somebody
never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's
permit.
Somebody said good mothers never raise their voices.
Somebody never came out the back door just in time to
see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen
window.
Somebody said you don't need an education to be a
mother. . .Somebody never helped a 4th grader with
his math.
Somebody said you can't love the 5th child as much as
you love the first . . Somebody doesn't have 5 children.
Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her
child-rearing questions in the books . . Somebody never
had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother
is labor and delivery. . Somebody never watched her
"baby" get on the bus for the 1st day of kindergarten,
or on a plane headed for military boot camp.
Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes
closed and one hand tied behind her back . . .
Somebody never organized 7 giggling Brownies to
sell cookies.
Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her
child gets married. Somebody doesn't know that marriage
adds a new son- or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.
Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last
child leaves home. . Somebody never had grandchildren.
Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you
don't need to tell her. . Somebody isn't a mother.
Please pass this along to all the "mothers" in your life.
We should also pass it on to anyone who has ever loved
and/or lost a mother!
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