Mother's Day - 2015

Mothers

Soft, warm, and full of love

Mothers both teach and soothe

Their smile can light up the room

Or make everyone in it move

They shield us from the angry dad

and make our owies better

And all they ask is, once a year

they get a simple letter

Mothers are steady as the northern star

They quietly weather the absurd

Even though, deep inside

They rather be flipping you the bird

Nope, I don't think I'll be posting this to the monastery site.  Their sense of propriety is not quite mature enough to handle the subtlety of humor, and trying to explain why it isn't offensive, well, if you have to explain humor...

I told my mother I was working on this post and described the photo.  She made a comment that, of course, she would never think of flipping anyone off.  Yeah, right.  I will, however, buy that her own sense of propriety would prevent her from actually doing the deed.  I firmly believe the thought has crossed her mind from time to time, and why not?  Moms put up with a lot of crap.  Husbands are usually unappreciative; children constantly take advantage, and in the business world, well, let's not even go there.  

Have you ever seen the consummate mother that can simply lean over, quietly whisper into the ear of her unruly child, and the whining, screaming, and crying tantrum disappears into a toned down sniffling with eyes as big as saucers?  I always envisioned her whispering that if the little shit didn't shut the hell up she was going to pinch off their little peanut head and let the dog bury it.  God bless her, mothers have a tough row to hoe and only occasionally do they seem to get the recognition they so sorely deserve.  If a father has never had to mete out punishment, it is probably due to a mother's gentle threat of, "Just wait till your father gets home."  Seven words that can give a child pause, get a room cleaned up, or the lawn mowed.  Dad will come home saying, "What a good kid!" and mom will just wink knowingly at you and say, "Yes.  Yes, he is."  Whew!  I'm certain there are probably more times than I know about than mom put herself between me and a serious butt whipping, not that I probably didn't deserve the punishment.

For those that think their mother is a royal bitch, maybe she has cause.  Hell, the cause is probably you... or your father.  How about cutting her some slack and trying to see the world through her eyes.  Walk a mile in her shoes, she's already walk across the earth in yours.  She's been there and done that, so don't think she doesn't understand what you're going through.  But, if it's that bad and she really hasn't, what the hell are you doing it for?  This woman, that gave you life, deserves better than you being the whiny little shit all the time.  Suck it up and show some appreciation for at least one day... how about Mother's Day?

My best wishes and love for all you mothers out there!

Editor's Note

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."