BEING A MOTHER

    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
    has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my
    three 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 a 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 at 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. Half-way through the entrees, I lifted my eyes and saw
    Mother 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 were 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. Sometime later, I received an envelope with a copy of a
    restaurant receipt from the same place 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 till some
    'other' time.

    Somebody said it takes about six 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 can't love the second child as much as you love the
    first... somebody doesn't have two or more children.

    Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labour and
    delivery....somebody never watched her 'baby' get on the bus for the
    first day of kindergarten... or on a plane headed for military 'boot
    camp.'

    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.

    Pass this along to all the GREAT 'mothers' in your life and to
    everyone who ever had a mother.

    This isn't just about being a mother; it's about appreciating the
    people in your lives while you have them... no matter who that person
    is!

    Watch your thoughts, they become words.
    Watch your words, they become actions.
    Watch your actions, they become habits.
    Watch your habits, they become character.
    Watch your character, for it becomes...your destiny.

    'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some
    kind of battle'.