EDITORIAL May 18, 2017 Online at www.proedtn.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MOTHER’S DAY SUMMARY

Mother’s Day is a day of celebration. Saying something bad about someone’s Mother’s Day is a day of mother is usually grounds for a fight. Even hardened criminals love their mom. celebration. This Mother’s Day, When a mother looks at her newborn child it is perhaps the purest love ever known. appreciate the woman Many authors throughout the centuries have expanded upon this subject for deeper you call Mom, Mama, or meaning in their works. For example, Ezekiel 16:4 says, “As is the mother, so is her Mother and reflect upon daughter.” Poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson also wrote, “Men are what their mothers the true meaning of a made them.” Lastly, Edgar Allen Poe wrote, “Because I feel that, in the Heavens mother. above / The angels, whispering to one another, / Can find, among their burning terms of love / None so devotional as that of ‘Mother.’”

On Mother’s Day, we get to honor our first best friend and the person you can always turn to when you need guidance. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is well beyond calculation. Mothers hold their child’s hand for a fleeting moment, but they remain in their hearts forever. In the words of American novelist, Gail Tsukiyama, “Mothers and their children are in a category all their own. There’s no bond so strong in the entire world. No love so instantaneous and forgiving.”

We are probably unaware of the unseen contributions a mother has in each one of our lives. Her prayers began for us in her womb and have been there through our life. The depths of those prayers have been a source of untold strength. She knew what you meant, not how you acted. Author, Laura Stavoe Harm said, “We have a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong.”

For many of us, our mother is a role model, a hero, and a trusted confidant. We want her to be proud of us. In fact, if she is the only person proud of us, we deem ourselves a success. A mother’s love for her child is relentless, her love persistent and unbending.

She can be an unsolicited advisor and serve as your conscience. The late American humorist, Erma Bombeck, reminded us that, “When your mother asks, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’ it’s a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.” Mothers are wise and always right...well, mostly right.

It is said that the most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. I have found that to be the bedrock of my own marriage. If you look at how men treat their own mother, it gives you a pretty good idea of how they will treat their wife.

This Mother’s Day, appreciate the woman you call Mom, Mama, or Mother. If you are celebrating a motherless Mother's Day, regardless of the pain, try to reflect on those lessons she taught you. The women in my life, especially my mother and my wife, have contributed so incredibly to the person I am today. I honor them and I honor all women on this day.

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Professional Educators of Tennessee • 5100 Linbar Drive, Suite 101 • Nashville, TN 37211 www.proedtn.org • (615) 778-0803 • 1-800-471-4867 • www.facebook.com/proedtn

JC Bowman is the Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the association are properly cited. For more information on this subject or any education issue please contact Professional Educators of Tennessee. To schedule an interview please contact Audrey Shores, Director of Communications, at 1-800-471-4867 ext.102.

Professional Educators of Tennessee • 5100 Linbar Drive, Suite 101 • Nashville, TN 37211 www.proedtn.org • (615) 778-0803 • 1-800-471-4867 • www.facebook.com/proedtn