Bev’s Words of Wisdom for What its Worth!
The Perfect Mother?
BEVERLY KEARNEY
All too often we chose to criticize the mothers of today, feeling that they fall well short of the standards and expec-
tations set by moms of the past. We feel that this generation of youth is being misguided and not raised properly, and
that all our societies’ issues and problems all began in the home. And since the majority of the homes are single parent
female-only homes, my assumption is that we are talking about the single moms. Well let’s take an honest look back
over history starting with Eve. Eve was officially the first mother of all mothers. She was the first woman to walk the
face of this earth, and though she was created by the all mighty God without flaw, it would be fair to say that she didn’t
remain that way. And if history and the Bible speaks truth, then let’s be honest, Eve was the first official mother to
live a life of imperfections. A mother is not meant to be perfect; a mother is designed to love—they are strength, they
are our wisdom and they are our life lines. Whether you felt the warmth of your mother’s love or not, you desired it.
Although my grandmother passed away many years ago, I can still hear her humming in the kitchen. In her humming
I found happiness and sometimes sadness; but mostly I found comfort.
I found strength to get through my difficult times by remembering the sounds of my mother’s moans. My mother
passed away my senior year in high school, and even now I still find strength in her moans. You see, I never really saw
my mother cry from heartaches or the the pain derived from the fights or accidents she endured while drinking. My
grandmother hummed and my mother moaned and whether through our texting or conversations, we, the mother’s of
today, stand in the footsteps of their strength, love and their passion. And whether any of us ever speak words and
confessions of love, we all love with every fiber of our being to the best of our ability.
We might not meet the expectations and standards set by the images created by our society or the images that flow
across our television screens each week, but know that we are here doing the best job and the most difficult job in the
world, Motherhood! Until I became a mother, I never truly understood the challenges and joys of motherhood. Heck,
it’s the only job in the world where you are required to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 18 or more years! And
we’re required to not only go without pay, but we have to actually pay financially and through our labor of love. So, if
that’s not the “perfection” of love, then I’m not sure what love is.
So, the next time you should find yourself angry with your mother, realize that she is doing the best she can with
what she has. Remember that although not perfect, she is the gift that gave life and opportunity to YOU! So I ask the
question, is one day in the month of May really enough to celebrate all that mothers do? Can a true appreciation of
Motherhood be summed up in a single day? No! Mothers everywhere should be celebrated—and they should celebrate
themselves and each other everyday, because motherhood is truly the hardest and most important job that a woman will
ever do! We are important because God has gifted every great mother with the ability to be a source of nuture, support
and unconditional love to invest in her child... that, in itself, is perfection!•
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amn magazine