Mother's Day Talks

I am so GLAD Mother’s Day has changed since the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. My mother used to detest Mother’s Day with a passion, and I don’t blame her. In those days, our Mother’s Day Sacrament Meeting would include at least one talk about someone’s “angel mother.” This woman slaved away her entire thankless life until she evaporated into a pile of dust that disappeared in a nasty thunderstorm. She never: rested, had one of her needs fulfilled, got anything she wanted, had a decent meal, had a dress that wasn’t a rag, or participated in one activity that was pleasant enough to warrant a smile on her face during her entire life. Oh, and she never complained. She sacrificed all so her kids would have a bag of marbles to play with. And this is what truly worthy mothers should aspire to.

Usually, the second speaker would weave a tale about a mother who: never raised her voice, always wore a dress and make up, kept an immaculate house, even though she had ten boisterous children, was adored as the President of the Community Garden Club, was a fabulous cook, and on, and on…. After one such talk, Gail Blodgett looked at me and said, “Just once I wish a speaker would say, ‘My mother yelled at me, but I loved her anyway.’”

My Mom and I would leave church in a depression so deep the Grand Canyon seemed like a shallow little furrow. Whew! Truth is always better than a lie. To have your kids know you have faults but love you anyway is so much better than to have someone cast you as a paragon.