TOMORROW is Mother’s Day and let us give this one day to say something kind, do something good to express our love and gratitude to our mothers. Remember: “No gift to your mother can ever equal her gift to you – life.” You will not be walking this earth if not for your mother.
Ann Taylor placed it so succinctly: “Who ran to help me when I fell, and would come pretty story tell, or kiss the place to make it well? My mother.”
A quote of Fran Lebowitz in “Parental Guidance” Social Studies 1981 said: “Your responsibility as a parent is not as great as you might imagine. You need not supply the world with the next conqueror or disease or major motion-picture star. If your child simply grows up to be someone who does use the word collectible as a noun, you can consider yourself an unqualified success.”
Most parents, mothers included, have dreams and hopes that their children turn out to be presidents of the country, or be an Albert Einstein, a Steve Jobs, or a Tony Stark (Iron Man).
Honestly, I wouldn’t wish for my son to be running for president. Politics today is so dirty. Honest people with all their pure ideals get corrupted or have no choice but to flow with the rot.
Michelangelo, who was among the “50 Geniuses of All Time,” was a famous Renaissance artist. He was not only a great sculptor, painter, architect and poet, but also a successful entrepreneur and a Florentine patrician who firmly believed in the ancient and noble origins of his family. His genius enabled him to bring an entirely new artistic perspective from his mind to reality. His noble origins replete with a coat of arms brought tension between his patrician birth and his fundamentally manual profession occasionally causing Michelangelo to experience doubt about his art (best expressed in his poetry), and encountered conflict with his patrons.
In the world of music and motion picture, the top on my list is Michael Jackson. There is no other King of Pop. A multi-generational superstar of epic proportion who enjoyed a chart-topping career, Michael Jackson was deprived of a normal childhood. Forced into work at a young age, his latter days were even sadder, as it was tainted with child sexual abuse accusations.
So for us mothers, we should pray and hope to the best of our capacities that we can bring up good and decent children. They don’t need to be rocket scientists or living counterparts of the Avengers. They just need a kind heart, good manners, enough drive to get them to be the best of themselves in their chosen destinies - husband, wife, career, and most importantly a God-fearing soul.
Choosing some for moms on this Mother’s day feature are some more special people.
“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie,” said Tenneva Jordan. A mother who comes to my mind with this quote is Malou Perez. Malou is other-centered. In our present world, where the self seems to be goal and theme to be happy, Malou is rare because she puts others before her own wants. Aside from her maternal instincts, this is most evident in her work, in her religious communities and even in her pleasure.
A lady who has been a true friend and mother to his children and even to me (now that I am orphaned) is my Tita Teresing (Teresita Valderrama Lizares). As Washington Irving puts it: “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us; still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precept and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.”
Tita Teresing, because of the depth of spirituality, turns hopeless and helpless situations into venues for hope. Her son Amelito said that although there is much tension because his Dad is going through a rough time with his health, his worry seems to dissipate because he does not see his mom stressed or wavering in faith. Yes, Tita Teresing can transform an awkward, annoying situation in to a humorous one. Her capacity for understanding people is so magnanimous that she seems unfazed with unkindness. She epitomizes the virtues of a true mother.
One of my dearest friends, who is childless but seems to have a whole litter of children, is Linggay Coscolluela Magalona. Linggay is the eldest daughter in a brood of 13. She is the Manang of all her younger siblings and that title is synonymous to mother. Orphaned at a young age, her sisters looked to Linggay for their decisions, approached her for their angst, and her advice and counsel are always respected. Her home in Las Vegas is always a welcome haven for visiting family members (even friends). Linggay will come home in a heartbeat when her siblings need her. If an audition for “Dream Mom” was held, Linggay would take center stage and own it!
So, Mother’s Day is tomorrow! Mothers, give yourselves a pat in the back. There are no programs or schools for motherhood. It is an on-the-job-training. You learn the ropes as you go along and God always gift mothers with the grace to multi-task: doctor, caregiver, lawyer, event’s coordinator, laundrywoman, housemaid, cook, driver, handyman, comptroller, chief executive officer, chief operating officer, teacher, tutor, fashion stylist, confessor, spiritual director, mentor, and more performed simultaneously. Mothers have been given the best gift to any child-the gift of life.
So let us treasure our mothers and treasure yourselves! Happy Mother’s Day to all!!!