Sunday, May 14, 2017

Thanking Mom, and My Wife, on Mother's Day, 2017

By Douglas V. Gibbs
AuthorSpeakerInstructorRadio Host

Proverbs 1:8-9King James Version (KJV)

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
Today is Mother’s Day. I am the eldest of three children. I married my high school sweetheart nearly 33 years ago.

I am the father of two, and the grandfather of seven, hindsight is twenty-twenty. I now look at my parents with a set of eyes I did not possess when I was younger.

Mom was only a teenager when she had me.  She grew up in a less than ideal situation as a child.  Yet, she did all she knew how to do, and she kept us in church.

Dad worked hard, and Mom stayed at home.  She gave all to her children, and placed her duties as a mother in the loving Hands of the Lord.

Mom was always there for homework, baseball games (practically the team mom every time, even if she wasn’t technically the team mom), cross-country meets, and prayer. Every Sunday she got us to Sunday School.  She bought us Bibles, took us to school, and hosted slumber parties full of rowdy friends from school. She was a referee when us kids began to fight, a detective when nobody owned up to bad behavior, and a chef when we were all hungry.

As I grew up in that household, I watched mom with untrained and immature eyes. I always wondered why mom didn’t get a job, too.  Most of my friends had moms that worked. 

I did not, yet, realize how fortunate I was.

I married at 18, and my wife was a working girl. I appreciated the help with the bills as we began our lives together.  We were relatively poor, living in a difficult neighborhood, and struggling just to put food on the table. Our busy schedules made it hard to see each other as often as we would have liked.  As a Navy man, when sea-time came, sometimes I would not see her for months at a time. But, we were both working, both contributing, and both happy with our careers of the moment.

My wife was not necessarily a feminist, but I suppose you could say she's a strong woman who knows what she wants.  When she realized our son was needing more and more of her personal time, and it broke her heart having him babysat all the time, even if the folks watching him were trusted family and friends, she eventually asked me if she could stop working.

When she became a full-time mom and housewife, our son was much happier.  It was difficult becoming the sole bread winner, but her contribution to making our residence a home was greatly appreciated, and I was determined to do whatever it took to always make sure we could make ends meet.

She didn't go back to work for the entirety of our kids' childhood (save for a short stint with a home daycare, and pre-school during the hours the children were in school).  At night, when I was home, she went to school, and achieved four associates degrees, and one bachelors.  Still, she remained out of the workforce until two weeks after our youngest child moved out to pursue her life as an adult.

I now look back at my mom, viewing her in a different light than I had before. Mom made sure that none of us kids had to sacrifice anything. She made breakfast, packed lunches, and had dinner hot on the table when dad walked in the door.  She made our house a home.

Mom provided us with faith-based foundations that included lessons in values, standards, and love. Her strength made childhood easy, and looking back I realize she was the rock of the family. Mom was the one that could always be depended on. Her love and support was like clockwork. Her faith and love a solid foundation for a family that needed her dearly.

Now, as I watch my wife, and her growth as a wife and a mother, I realize that she has given me the same gift my mom gave Dad and us kids. She is always there for me, providing a home, rather than simply a house, and doing for me in ways that I never dreamed she would. We have become best friends, cherished lovers, and dependable servants to each other – and it has made our marriage stronger.

Thanks Mom, for your courage, and caring love. Thanks for being a cook, nurse, referee, detective, and cleaning lady. Thanks for scolding me, loving me, cheering me on, and telling dad when I went too far with my mischief. And thanks to my lovely wife, too, for continuing the example of what a mom ought to be. My love for these two women in my life is boundless, and I cannot thank either of them enough, other than to say it is because of them that my life is truly blessed.

Thank you, and Happy Mother’s Day.

“She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.”

(Proverbs 31:27-31)

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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