I realize that Mother's Day has come and gone. With all due respect to all you mothers out there, married, single, or otherwise, congratulations! My hat is off to you; my respect, love, and thoughts are all yours. Moms tend to need to be myriad things all rolled into one--The Nurturer, The Supporter, The Nurse, The Provider, The One We Turn To When Our World Crumbles. The one person in the Universe (well, maybe) who knows not to send their kid to school on Halloween without a costume, or Valentines cards and candy on Valentines Day. The One individual we count on to remember to make that special dinner on our birthday, to be followed up with our favorite cake (or pie, whichever the case may be), and a present we've longed for till our nails couldn't bite any further into our palms.
Or the 4th of July. Who procured the sparklers and firecrackers? Who took us to the fireworks display and brought popcorn along in case we got hungry? Or took us to soccer practice, tennis practice, football, baseball, or hockey practice? In addition, who scrubs away the lice in our hair because the school had a recent infestation and had to close down? Who co-miserates with us when we're puking our guts out from the flu? I think you get the point.
Now, switch Mom to Dad. Father's Day is coming up next month, and, I have to say, my children call me on both holidays, because I raised them myself, with a job, no mother present, and, I suppose, they consider me both. In fact, my youngest said as much on Mom's Day. He asked me how I did it, and I said I didn't have a clue. One simply does what one has to do.
And, all things being equal, isn't that what we, as humans, all do?
