What a special gift Jesus gave us when from the cross He said to John, “Behold your Mother.”! (Jn 19:26-27).
Mothers always seem to know what you need and when you need it. I have a lot of very fond memories of times spent in my childhood when it was just Mom and me. I couldn’t begin to write down all of them, because A) There are too many, and B) I don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to express what those moments have meant to me. But I will share one that I think about a lot.
When I was a young my mother would use a bobby pin to scrape the earwax out of my ears. It sounds strange, I know, but I actually looked forward to it. Sometimes I would even ask for it. Why? Because I would get to put my head in my mother’s lap, and she would talk about her day and ask me about mine while she was scraping away. It was by no means the only time she seemed interested in me and how I was doing, but it did seem like she was totally focused on me.
It was very nurturing, and I didn’t want to share this attention with anyone else! There were times that Tom would try to horn in on my special time with Mom whining, “My turn! My turn! I would get angry and push him out of “my space”. It made me feel very special. If I had a particularly hard day at school (how hard could school be, for cryin’ out loud!), I would crawl onto the couch and put my head in her lap and I wouldn’t have to say anything—just her presence would give me the confidence to go back to school the next day. And I’m not talking just grade school, either. This ritual took place well into my teens and to tell the truth, I find that just the memories of these times can have a calming effect to this day.
Of course, a couple of years ago during a doctor’s examination, he asked me about the scarred tissue in my ears and I explained my childhood of bobby pins in the ear and he said, “Yep! That’ll do it!” But I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything in this world.
One more memory just came to mind. In fact Mom and I were discussing it just the other day. Her memories of the events are slightly different than mine (in fact, she thought the incident was with Tom!), but this is how I remember it, and I’m sticking to it!
When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I got caught stealing a candy bar from Dale’s market, across the street from our house (I should probably be on that television show, “America’s Dumbest Criminals!) The manager called Mom and she came over to get me. She pulled me home by my ear, really angry that I would betray her trust in me and embarrass her to the neighbors. She kept saying, “You’re going to confession! Today!” and “Your father’s going to punish you when he gets home!” When we got home, Mom sent me to my room and said, “Wait right here! When your father gets home, we’ll decide what to do with you!” All kinds of thoughts were running around in my head, not the least of which was “Man, this spanking is going to hurt!” (I could only imagine this, because I don’t remember either Mom or Dad ever spanking me—I was such a Boy Scout!) Anyway, Dad came home and I got really scared. He was all for spanking me, but just as he was about to let loose on my behind, the phone rang and he went out with Mom to see who it was, forgetting about me for the time being. It was Aunt Jenny. Mom told her what was going on and Aunt Jenny offered to come by and take the both of us to confession right then. By this time, Mom had pretty much cooled down anyway and was having second thoughts about spanking me. She could see that I was sorry. And I was. Truly sorry. Not because of the punishment I might receive, but because I had offended her and Dad, by not obeying them and staying out of trouble. I said as much to them (in child-speak) and evidently Mom was satisfied enough with my contrition to talk Dad out of spanking me.
I’m sure that each of my brothers has a “special” memory of Mom that shows what a powerful effect a mother’s love can have on all of us, and how she can protect us from pain and suffering, just as I’m sure Jesus has similar stories to tell about His special moments with His mother that were never written down in the Bible. How great His love is to share His Mother with us, so we can build similar memories with her. And just as Mom was able to intercede for me to Dad so that he stayed his hand on my bottom, so Our Blessed Mother does for us with her Son.
Hail, Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Mothers always seem to know what you need and when you need it. I have a lot of very fond memories of times spent in my childhood when it was just Mom and me. I couldn’t begin to write down all of them, because A) There are too many, and B) I don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to express what those moments have meant to me. But I will share one that I think about a lot.
When I was a young my mother would use a bobby pin to scrape the earwax out of my ears. It sounds strange, I know, but I actually looked forward to it. Sometimes I would even ask for it. Why? Because I would get to put my head in my mother’s lap, and she would talk about her day and ask me about mine while she was scraping away. It was by no means the only time she seemed interested in me and how I was doing, but it did seem like she was totally focused on me.
It was very nurturing, and I didn’t want to share this attention with anyone else! There were times that Tom would try to horn in on my special time with Mom whining, “My turn! My turn! I would get angry and push him out of “my space”. It made me feel very special. If I had a particularly hard day at school (how hard could school be, for cryin’ out loud!), I would crawl onto the couch and put my head in her lap and I wouldn’t have to say anything—just her presence would give me the confidence to go back to school the next day. And I’m not talking just grade school, either. This ritual took place well into my teens and to tell the truth, I find that just the memories of these times can have a calming effect to this day.
Of course, a couple of years ago during a doctor’s examination, he asked me about the scarred tissue in my ears and I explained my childhood of bobby pins in the ear and he said, “Yep! That’ll do it!” But I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything in this world.
One more memory just came to mind. In fact Mom and I were discussing it just the other day. Her memories of the events are slightly different than mine (in fact, she thought the incident was with Tom!), but this is how I remember it, and I’m sticking to it!
When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I got caught stealing a candy bar from Dale’s market, across the street from our house (I should probably be on that television show, “America’s Dumbest Criminals!) The manager called Mom and she came over to get me. She pulled me home by my ear, really angry that I would betray her trust in me and embarrass her to the neighbors. She kept saying, “You’re going to confession! Today!” and “Your father’s going to punish you when he gets home!” When we got home, Mom sent me to my room and said, “Wait right here! When your father gets home, we’ll decide what to do with you!” All kinds of thoughts were running around in my head, not the least of which was “Man, this spanking is going to hurt!” (I could only imagine this, because I don’t remember either Mom or Dad ever spanking me—I was such a Boy Scout!) Anyway, Dad came home and I got really scared. He was all for spanking me, but just as he was about to let loose on my behind, the phone rang and he went out with Mom to see who it was, forgetting about me for the time being. It was Aunt Jenny. Mom told her what was going on and Aunt Jenny offered to come by and take the both of us to confession right then. By this time, Mom had pretty much cooled down anyway and was having second thoughts about spanking me. She could see that I was sorry. And I was. Truly sorry. Not because of the punishment I might receive, but because I had offended her and Dad, by not obeying them and staying out of trouble. I said as much to them (in child-speak) and evidently Mom was satisfied enough with my contrition to talk Dad out of spanking me.
I’m sure that each of my brothers has a “special” memory of Mom that shows what a powerful effect a mother’s love can have on all of us, and how she can protect us from pain and suffering, just as I’m sure Jesus has similar stories to tell about His special moments with His mother that were never written down in the Bible. How great His love is to share His Mother with us, so we can build similar memories with her. And just as Mom was able to intercede for me to Dad so that he stayed his hand on my bottom, so Our Blessed Mother does for us with her Son.
Hail, Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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