A Tribute to Mothers

               When we were at the age of pure innocence, we trusted that nothing could absolutely harms us. Every bruise, pain or cut could readily be healed with a kiss from our dear mother, a band-aid and a lollipop. We used to idolize the grown-ups thinking that they were capable of so many things that we were not. Thus, we longed to be grown-ups ourselves. For most, the epitome of who they wanted to be were  their MOTHER.

                However, as the years go by, our feelings tend to change. We forget the sacrifices that our mothers had to make. We become self-absorbed and selfish forgetting the fact that the world does not revolve around us.

                Remember that story about a mother who had only one eye and her son who was very much ashamed of her? (more of this story on http://www.moralstories.org/mothers-sacrifice/)  Whether we admit it or not, at some point in our life, we were all like that: ungrateful sons and daughters incapable of seeing beyond our own acts of selfishness.

                As we grow older, may we never forget that our mothers are getting older as well. There will come a time when she becomes forgetful and will not be able to do the things that she once did with so much ease. When that happens, let us remember to be patient. Let us remember that we were once dependent on her as well. She has had countless sleepless nights because of our piercing screams in the middle of the night, she read us happy stories just so we could drift off to dreamland, she satisfied our queries about the things that we were so eager to know about, and we were truly loved and cared for. We may be too young to remember all the things that she has had to do for us but we can not deny the fact that we grew up to what and who we are now because of her love.

                The time will come when our roles will be reversed. Our mothers will become dependent on us. When that time comes, may we have the wisdom to embrace that role with our hearts wide open.

                Chili Davis once said, "Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." May we all take the conscious choice to grow up.