Juliana

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to takeanother woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, "Ilove you, but I know this other woman loves you andwould love to spend some time with you."

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit wasmy MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but thedemands of my work and my three children had made itpossible to visit her only occasionally.

That night I called to invite her to go out for dinnerand a movie.

"What's wrong, are you well," she asked?
My mother is the type of woman who suspects that alate night call or a surprise invitation is a sign ofbad news.

"I thought that it would be pleasant to spend sometime with you" I responded. "Just the two of us."

She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "Iwould like that very much.

"That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick herup I was a bit nervous.

When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too,seemed to be nervous about our date.

She waited in the door with her coat on.

She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress thatshe had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.

She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.

"I told my friends that I was going to go out with myson, and they were impressed," she said, as she gotinto the car." They can't wait to hear about ourmeeting.

"We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant,was very nice and cozy.

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 andsaw Mom sitting there staring at me.

A nostalgic smile was on her lips.

"It was I who used to have to read the menu when youwere small," she said.

"Then it's time that you relax and let me return thefavor," I responded.

During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversationnothing extraordinary but catching up on recentevents of each other's life.

We talked so much that we missed the movie.

As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll goout with you again, but only if you let me inviteyou."

I agreed.

"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home.

"Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,"I answered.A few days later, my mother died of a massive heartattack.

It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chanceto do anythingfor her.

Some time later, I received an envelope with a copyof a restaurant receipt from the same place motherand I had dined.An attached note said:
"I paid this bill in advance.I wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless,I paid for two plates - one for you and the other foryour wife. You will never know what that night meantfor me. I love you, son."

At that moment, I understood the importance of sayingin time: "I LOVE YOU" and to give our loved ones thetime that they deserve.

Nothing in life is more important than your family.

Give them the time they deserve, because these thingscannot be put off till "some other time."

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back tonormal after you've had a baby .... somebody doesn'tknow that once you're a mother,"normal" is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother byinstinct .. somebody never took a three-year-oldshopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring .. somebodynever rode in a car driven by a teenager with adriver's permit.Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your childwill "turn out good"...somebody thinks a child comeswith directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices....somebody never came out the back door just intime to see her child hit a golf ball through theneighbor's kitchen window.Somebody said you don't need an education to be amother ..somebody never helped a fourth grader withhis math.

Somebody said you can't love the second child as muchas you love the first ... somebody doesn't have twochildren.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers toher child-rearing questions in the books.... somebodynever had a child stuff beans up his nose or in hisears.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother islabor and delivery somebody never watched her "baby"get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten .. or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyesclosed and one hand tied behind her back ...somebodynever organized seven giggling Brownies to sellcookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after herchild gets married....somebody doesn't know thatmarriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to amother's heartstrings.Somebody said a mother's job is done when her lastchild leaves home....somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so youdon't need to tell her ... somebody isn't a mother.

Pass this along to all the "mothers" in your life, and to everyone who ever had a mother.This isn't just about being a mother, it's aboutappreciating the people in your life while you havethem.... no matter who that person is