For All Our Moms

My mother taught me about RELIGION: "You'd better pray that comes out of the carpet." My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: "If you don't shape up I'm going to knock you into next week." My mother taught me about FORESIGHT: "Be sure you wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident." My mother taught me about IRONY: "Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about." My mother taught me about WEATHER: "Your room looks like a tornado went through it." My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait til your dad gets home." My mother taught me about JUSTICE: "Some day you'll have kids of your own, and I hope they turn out just like you!"

When I was a kid I was in trouble a lot of the time, first with my Mom and later with Mr. Kennedy, the school principal. It wasn't that I was a bad kid. I was just distracted and mischievous and much more interested in having fun than studying. My Mom was a typical stay-at-home 50's housewife. She took me to Boy Scouts every Friday, tucked me into bed every night, and had milk & cookies waiting when I got home from school in the afternoons. Nevertheless, I put her through her paces as a parent. Like the time we were visiting relatives in northern Minnesota. I thought my cousin, Kathy, was a little stuck up, so I decided to give her something to get excited about. I put a frog in her bed that night, with some pretty loud and hilarious results. Needless to say, it did not make me popular that weekend with my parents OR the relatives. But it was my high school days, Mom claimed, that just about "did her in." That's when I discovered my love for fast cars and the art of sleeping in with only seconds to spare, then racing to school in my GTO with the convertible top down and papers flying. That usually resulted in a late slip from - guess who? - Mr. Kennedy, the principal. (Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Go ahead - say it. I haven't changed that much.) In fact, I almost didn't get to graduate. Due to an innocent little drag race down Burke Boulevard that ended in the school parking lot, me and my three best buddies were kicked out of school three weeks before graduation. Mom had a conniption fit over that one. I guess she was tired of phone calls from Mr. Kennedy by then. She used to tell Jeane funny stories about my adventures, but she would always end them with, "Oh, Greg was a terror alright, but I could see that he was really a good kid inside. He had a kind heart; he just had too much 'spit & vinegar' in him!" Oh my...the things we put our mothers through! My Mom represented the unconditional love of God in so many ways to me. She loved me through all my youthful escapades, and I never doubted her love for a minute. In spite of it all, we got along great and I have fond memories of her laughter and great sense of humor that cheered me through the years. How about you? I hope you weren't as trying a child as I was, but raising kids is hard. Be sure to give your Mom a big hug this weekend for all she went through raising you. And if she is no longer with you, send a big thanks heavenward to God for her. I'll be doing the same. Greg