GN Commentary: May 8, 2009 - "I Remember Mama"

With Mother's Day just around the corner, we may observe half of the commandment given by the Almighty God— "Honor your father and your mother." What will you do to remember your mama?

Related Resource

The Fifth Commandment: A Foundation for Success
The primary focus of the Fifth Commandment is the importance of learning to respect others while we are still children.

Video Transcript

How can I forget that wonderful aroma coming from the oven as I opened the front door and announced that "I'm home"?  Umm, fresh baked bread is so tantalizing.  Then the flavor of  the delicious apple and pumpkin pies that no one can bake quite like my mom does. She knew the right amount of spice to make the pies special.  I have seldom found pies baked as good as my mom.  I remember teaching my mom to play ping pong after my older brother left for college.  I had no challenger, so I painfully taught my mom to play like I played—only she mastered the defense better than I was able to do.  We played for nearly one hour usually to determine who would do the dishes some evenings.  It was usually my duty because my siblings were much younger.  It was to give mom relief from all of her daily chores.  When I challenged her to play, she was very willing to take up the challenge and often defeated me by frustrating me with her tenacious defense.

I have wonderful memories of a mom who was caring, loving, generous and fun.

The key is to "remember mom".  She is the first caregiver that any of us had.  She was our confidant and gave of herself to her children. 

With Mother's Day just around the corner, we may observe half of the commandment given by the Almighty God— "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:8).   What will you do to remember your mama?

Cards, phone calls, flowers and/or gifts are certainly appropriate to show that honor and respect and to let her know that she is loved. But, while giving gifts and cards may be special on Mother's Day, let's remember to regularly communicate our loving thoughts to our mothers throughout the year.

One great way to honor our mothers is to make them proud of us.  As a counselor, I have heard dozens of mothers tell me how happy they were that their children were successful, good, decent citizens.  That the good name that they were given was maintained and enriched  by how they lived their lives.

Please remember your mama by showing her love, respect and honor on Mother's Day and regularly throughout each year.  By the way, my mom is 95 years old and my wife and I plan to spend the day with her and show her the respect and love she deserves.  I might even challenge her to a game of ping pong.

For GN Magazine, I'm Gary Antion.