Mother’s Day is just around the corner ó some of my best friends are mothers.
As a student of history, I am forever fascinated by personal histories, I love hearing about them, and it’s interesting to me that some of my best friends, who are mothers, were first wives and lovers.
My darling sister-in-law first laid eyes on my big brother on the school bus, and says he was the handsomest boy she had ever seen, and she set her cap for him that very day.
After 51 years, it’s still a strong union.
Best friend Kathy was a Navy corpswoman when she spotted Bill, another Navy corpsman across the mess hall. She told her daughter that she knew from the very beginning that Bill Wilson was the one for her.
They’ve got 48 years behind them.
One of the more charming stories concerns my good friend B Jo. She was a very young teacher when she attended a teachers’ workshop at Appalachain State Teachers College (pre-ASU days), and her husband was then Iredell County’s most eligible bachelor and bon vivant.
Carl told me one day that at that meeting, he took one look at the beautiful Betty Jo Henderson and declared that if she wasn’t already taken, she was his!
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Litaker enjoyed an impressive union of not quite 50 years when he passed away.
My spouse and I met at college, in the same class, as a matter of fact, and it took him many, many months to convince me I was the one for him.
I suppose you could say that after nearly 44 years, we have worked it out.
All of these beautiful women are mothers, having spawned quite a number of children, and a whole lot of grandkids. Like them and mothers everywhere, we enjoy our day, we’ve earned it, and, maybe we will be remembered in some special way. All of our mothers are gone now, and each and every one of us would have them back if possible.
I like to think we are all successful, and our stories match so many others that are out there today. I doubt any of us holds the secret to successful parenting, but each of us in our way feels so lucky to have had the chance to be mothers.
Our world is all topsy-turvy now and good news is difficult to find, but our special day is coming up soon, and we just need a little sunshine spread around, don’t we?
I hope all of us in this group I have spotlighted live for many more Mother’s Days to come, that we enjoy the company of our children and grandchildren. And if you still have your mother with you, you take the time to tell her how much you appreciate her efforts on your behalf.
Life is short and can be very unpredictable, and if it weren’t for our moms getting us through the hard times, who knows how we might have turned out?
It’s her day, give her a hug, take her to lunch ó after all, Moms are people, too!