Show some respect for your mother

By Mandy Walton

Thursday, May 14, 2009 | 6:36 p.m.

Springtime is a wonderful time of year to celebrate our mothers. With new flowers blooming, we are reminded of new life. Life would be absent without mothers. Henderson has roughly 375,000 residents and I would guess that a third of those residents are mothers -- maybe more -- when you factor in the amount of retirees living in our master-planned retirement communities.

As we watch the daily news and read newspapers, often it seems there are stories of heartbreak, abuse, children gone astray. My heart goes out to the mothers of these offenders. Sometimes the news seems so bad that I wonder if there are any good people left out there. As I attended church on Mother’s Day, however, I was reminded that Henderson still has some pretty remarkable teens who love their mothers.

At my church service, the organizers decided to have some of the teenage members speak about their mothers. These kids are members of our local high schools and excel in sports and academics. They are smart, and from what I’ve seen, respectful and courteous. Some of the things they said about their mothers brought me to tears.

“My mom makes a sack lunch every day, just for me,” said one girl about her mom. The girl was one of 10 children. “It’s a simple act but it means so much to me.”

I began to remember how my lunches always tasted better when mom made them. Maybe that’s why we mothers often don’t eat like we should: we no longer have a mother in our homes to make our meals.

Another girl recounted an experience she had while helping set up an activity for other teenagers in the church group. One of the adult workers told her she appreciated all her help.

“I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, though,” the adult told the girl.

The girl told our congregation that it struck her that the woman was talking about her mother. The girl was so honored that an adult would think she was like her mother that it brought her to tears telling the story.

These are only two examples of about a dozen teenagers who spoke about their mothers on Mother’s Day, at my church alone. It gives me hope that there are more kids out there who truly appreciate all that their mothers do for them.

I grew up as a good kid and don’t remember ever getting into trouble. I figured it was the best thing I could do to show my parents, and especially my mother, that I appreciate all they did (and still do) for me. Thanks, Mom.