KIcking it on Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is May 9 this year. I’ve celebrated 58 of them so far. Who knew, at 18, that being a mother was going to be a job for the rest of my life?

Motherhood, when done right, comes at a price. May I say, it ain’t what it’s cracked up to be? Personal sacrifices become de rigor. Because once removed from the nursery the lil darlings start their development as they wind their way toward adulthood. First stepping on your toes followed by stepping on your heart. In my experience, mothers tend toward forgiving. It would seem we even have the capacity to forgive all.

Regardless of their crimes. I’ll bet that even the world’s biggest tyrants were loved by their mothers.

After all, the good mothers nurture their brood while the bad ones continue their selfish attempts to ignore the lives they birthed. Believe me, they are out there.

Lest I mention how expensive children have become? Like California, children take all of our ready funds plus much of what has yet to be earned. Not only must we feed and house the little blighters, we are responsible for their clothing, education, and good manners.

If we as mothers do our job right, they will leave. If on the other hand we nurture our children too much (and who is to say what is too much?) like the swallows to Capistrano, the free loaders will too often return to their former bedrooms.

Here is a warning to all parents, pay their rent. Otherwise, coming home to roost can complicate your life and keep you shackled to them. It’s sad for both parent and child to live together because the blighters are unprepared for the world associated with employment.

Meanwhile, did I mention joy? Well, for me, there was a great deal of that as a parent, albeit mostly a single one.

There was great personal joy which accompanied each child. And pride. Even though we cannot take the blame or the credit with how they end up as adults, we can still be proud of their accomplishments.

But, even that does not erase the lingering worry for their continued well-being, their safety, their happiness, and their future. Face it, mothers worry.

This year on Mother’s Day, celebrate the woman who carried your lazy hide inside her womb for nine months and wiped your dirty bottom. After all, she is still on the job without retirement pay.

Elizabeth Youngman-Westphal can be reached at [email protected]