Being A Mother (just want to share this)

this just touched my heart when I read it and wanted to share it..




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 take out 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 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. Half
way through the entries, 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 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.

Some time 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 LOVEYOU’ and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothingin 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 learn how to be a mother by instinct …. somebody never took a three-year-old shopping. Or coped with a choking baby.

Somebody said being a mother is boring ….somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver’spermit. Or awoke to discover their brand new car missing, only to fly into a paroxism of worry over the sixteen-year-old who was surely driving it.

Somebody said if you’re a ‘good’ mother, your child will ‘turn out good’….somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee. Only prayer works all the time-no matter how hard we work at being a mother.

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. Or came out of the back door in time to see a seven-year-old building a volcano with the assistance of your finest leather gloves.

Somebody said you don’t need an education to be a mother…. somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math. Or struggled to understand the medical processes at work when your sick child is being treated.

Somebody said you can’t love the second child as much as you love the first …. somebody doesn’t have two children. Or they don’t have a heart.

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. Or ask ‘where did I come from?’

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor 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.’ Or watched her children dealing with any kind of rejection.

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back … somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies. Or tried to take care of a couple of boisterous toddlers after being up all night with the baby.

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. Plus a string of grandchildren–all just as important to you as any of your children are.

Somebody said a mother’s job is done when her last child leaves home….somebody never had grandchildren. Life just gets busier and busier…

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don’t need to tell her…. somebody isn’t a mother.

This is for all the ‘mothers’ in your life and for everyone who ever had a mother. This isn’t just about being a mother; it’s about appreciating the people in your life while you have them….no matter who that person is.