TO MOTHERS EVERYWHERE – ok

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie.  
She said, "I love you, but I know this other woman loves you too and she
would love to spend some quality time with you."  
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been
a widow for 10 years.  With the demands of my work and my three children, I
was only able to visit her occasionally.
 
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.  
"What’s wrong?  Are you okay?" she asked quickly.  
My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a
surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.  
"I thought that it would be nice to spend some time with you", I responded.
"Just the two of us."  
She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I would like that very
much." 

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a
bit nervous.  
When I arrived at her house, I noticed that  she, too, seemed to be nervous
about our date.  
She was waiting at the door with her coat on.  
She had curled her hair and she was wearing the same dress she wore to
celebrate her last wedding anniversary.  
She looked so beautiful. Her face was lit up with a smile that was as
radiant as an angel’s.  
"I told my friends that I was going out with my son, and they were very
impressed," she said, as she got into the car.
"They can’t wait to hear about our date."
 We went to a nice, cozy restaurant that had great food.  >My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.  
After we sat down, I had to read the menu.  Her eyes could only read large
print.  
Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there
staring at me with tears in her eyes.  
A nostalgic smile was on her lips.  "I am remembering all the times when
I read the menu to you when you were small," she said. 
"Then it’s time that you relax and let me return the favour," I responded.  
During the dinner, we had a relaxed, enjoyable conversation,
nothing extraordinary, just catching up on recent events and sharing
memories of our family history.
We talked so much that we missed the movie, so we had dessert, coffe, and
more conversation instead.  
As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I’ll go out with you again,
but only if you let me pay next time."  I agreed.
 
"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home.  
"Very nice. Much nicer than I could have imagined. Thanks for suggesting
it," I answered.  
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack.  
It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to see her or be
with her. 

Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a receipt from the
same restaurant where my mother and I had eaten.  
An attached note said: "Hi Son, I paid for 2 meals in advance.
If I can’t be here, bring your wonderful wife (who loves you almost as much
as I do). 
You will never know how much this night means to me. I love you, Son.  XOXO  Mom"
 
I treasure that hastily written note and my memory of that evening.Now I fully understand the importance of saying,"I LOVE YOU."
I realize that the most precious gift we have to give our loved ones is our
time.  
Northing in life is more important than your family.  Give them the time
they deserve NOW.
All too often, the connections that we put off till "some other time" are
the ones we regret most. 

Somebody said it takes about 6 weeks to get back to normal after you’ve had
a baby… that somebody doesn’t know that once you’re a mother, "normal" is
history.  
Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct .. that
somebody never took a 3-year-old shopping.  
Somebody said being a mother is boring… that somebody never rode in a car
driven by a teenager with a driver’s permit.  
Somebody said if you’re a "good" mother, your child will "turn
out good"…. that somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.  
Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices … that
somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit
a golf ball through a neighbor’s>window.  
Somebody said you don’t need an education to be a mother… that somebody
never helped a fifth grader with his math.  
Somebody said you can’t love the second child as much as you love the first
…. that somebody doesn’t have 2 children.  
Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her
child-rearing questions in the books…. that somebody never had a child
stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.  
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery….
that somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of
kindergarten or on a plane headed for college or a new job. 
Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand
tied behind her back … that somebody
never organized 7 giggling Brownies to sell cookies.  
Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married…
that somebody doesn’t know that marriage adds new rooms
for sons and daughters-in-law in a mother’s ever-expanding heart.  
Somebody said a mother’s job is done when her last child leaves home…
that somebody never had grandchildren.  
Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don’t need to tell
her….  that somebody isn’t a mother.