I GIVE THANKS FOR MY MOTHER
Mothering Sunday, a day dedicated to thanksgiving for our
mothers, a special celebration of all that our Mothers mean to us. As a child
most of us love our Mother’s unconditionally and expectantly, maintaining the belief
that Mummy is the be all and end all, having the power to make everything right
in our world. Before going further, let’s just touch on the fact that the same
applies to Fathers and in modern society Father’s play a similar role to
Mother’s sharing and caring whilst Mother’s contribute more financially than
several decades ago.
There are many different types of families around today with
children waking up this morning in happy situations or, sadly in families that
are torn apart by circumstance, hardship and many other stresses. Some people
are experiencing their first Mothering Sunday without their Mother, making it a
particularly painful day.
As we all know Motherhood comes to many of us without any
form of preparation for the immense task ahead and the best that most of us can
do is to love our children and apply a good dose of common sense to the way we
bring them up. Even if you are accustomed to looking after children the emotional experience of
being a first time Mum is immense and often overwhelming. Having responsibility
for a helpless child can seem awesome however we do the best we can, getting
most of it right with a smattering of not so good decisions along the way. A Mother’s
instinct puts the welfare of her children first and due to the nature of childhood
most of us cannot appreciate their Mother’s efforts until reaching adulthood.
A Mother’s life is a constant balancing act between the
needs of the children and every aspect of their own duties and desires. At the
same time, children these days have a more prominent role in society and a good
understanding of their rights- which are often voiced inappropriately! Many
Mother’s blindly back their children however astute Mothers will assess each
situation individually in the knowledge that children need to learn from life
experiences so that they are prepared for adulthood. Some children are born
with special needs of one type or another and it is not unusual for parents to
be ‘blind’ to such needs, preferring to ignore the obvious. They may well have
nagging suspicions that all is not well but hope that the child will outgrow
whatever difficulties they are experiencing. This may turn out to be the case however it is best
to seek advice early and benefit from all available help.
Children are instrumental in bringing joy to their families. Young children have a highly developed sense of awe and wonder which
sometimes fades as they grow older and the world is less fresh for them. Most
children have a rich sense of humour and are uninhibited, usually saying
exactly what they are thinking. Mother’s are here to guide and help steer children through life; not to dominate and impose values on them. A good mother will assist her children in
making wise decisions and help them choose a strong morale path and belief system that
works with their conscience. It is natural for parents to expect their
children to follow in their Religious and cultural footsteps however a truly
loving parent will also respect their children’s choices even if they do not
meet with parental ideals. Sometimes our children will take the wrong path in
life (as do some parents) ending up in undesirable situations- drug/alcohol
dependency, criminality or things that are generally abhorrent to society.
Usually a Mother will love her child regardless and do her best to support,
still loving the child even if s/he rejects her.
Sadly where will always be children who are rejected by their
mothers or who may have a mother who is unable to care for them properly. Thankfully,
time and again we hear that the Mother still loved their child even though they
‘let them down’ and may have failed to support their children physically or emotionally.
Usually we find that the children of inadequate Mothers still love their Mother
unconditionally, despite craving the attention they have been
deprived of as a child. Often children who have been adopted feel incomplete
until they have found the answers to the many questions that haunted them for
years. Whatever the situation we should just be thankful for the situations we
find ourselves in and accept that this is not a perfect world.
Let’s just take a few moments to be appreciative of our own
Mother and the love we have received every day of our lives, knowing that this
bond is unbreakable and extends to us at all times.
Jaz McKenzie
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