Sunday, May 13, 2012

Tribute


What can any of us say about our Mom’s that probably hasn’t been written on a hallmark card, been acted out in a sappy, tear-jerking film, or sung in a song?  Not much, right?  Odds are, the card, the film, and the lyrics probably do a much better job than most of us could ever do.  Something we should always keep in mind, though, Hallmark, Hollywood, and Nashville can never live up to the one tribute only we have to give - ourselves.
Everyday, as we interact with other people, as we work our jobs, raise our families, and build our lives, we offer tribute to our Mom.  While we will have many teachers in our lives, our Mothers are one of the most influential we will ever have.  From the very moment of conception, our Mom begins to teach us life lessons, behaviors, and the very components that will make up our lives.  Some lessons will be immense, some will be tiny.
Even if you never knew your Mother, or do not have a relationship with your Mom, she still offers lessons, if you are willing to learn.  Some Mom’s might teach how to forgive, if only by being the worse mother imaginable.  Others might teach unconditional love, because the only way to love them would be to abandon all conditions on which love would rest.  Find the lesson your Mom offers and be thankful that she has placed her fingerprint upon your life.
My parents instilled in me an appreciation for the written word when I was very young, and my Mom helped to fan the flames of my young hunger for reading.  I would not be sitting here writing today without my Mom’s influence.  In fact, from the age of eleven on, I could strongly argue the fuel for the projection of my life came from my Mom allowing me to read my first Stephen King novel.  From that point on, the written word filled my life.  I couldn’t get enough books.  Days went by where I only read, ate, and slept.  I would still spend many of my days the same way if Samantha would let me.
While not alone, our Mom helped to design us.  She offered half of the blueprints for our internal circuitry, made as many adjustments as possible to our programming, and then sent us out into the world to be the best product possible.  If it sounds like software engineering, that is because, in many ways, raising a child is like the world’s greatest design product.  Could you imagine attempting to build the world’s most complicated computer from scratch without any experience, limited manuals, and an unlimited supply of contradictory advice and armchair quarterbacks?  
Everyday you live, shine as a tribute to the women who added you to the face of the earth.  Follow her lessons, even if she taught them unwillingly or unknowingly.  Be the best product she could have created.  No card, movie, or song could ever compete with that.

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