My Mother

When I look back over my past few weekends, what I mostly see are images of people. Lots of people. About three to four thousand people to be be more precise. These are the people who go to mass at St. John's. Lately I have been going to all five masses throughout weekend. Not because I'm a saint, but because it's my second job. I'm putting my degree to good use by running the sound for each mass. The best part is that the console is in the balcony. This means that four of the five masses, I sit up in the choir loft in a dark little corner by myself and basically, watch. I watch the kids secretly coloring in the cracks in the pews, or the wife elbowing her snoozing husband. I started working there Palm Sunday but even before then I was up there for at least one mass a weekend singing in choir and playing the timpani. I've been to all the special masses like Christmas and Easter Vigils, or confirmation last night. But today, out of all the masses I've been to in the past nine months, something was different.

Today, almost everyone was on time, and almost everyone came to mass. Standing room only for 8:30 and 10:30. Even 7:00 was more crowded than usual. Today they did the kids liturgy of the word at two masses because there were just so many kids there. But also, everyone was dressed up. Even more so than Easter I'd bet. And on top of that, everyone was on their best behavior. No kids screaming, no one falling asleep, no one sticking gum under the pews.

This, to me, was one of the greatest examples of how important our mothers are. Now, I know that mothers can be annoying at times. Especially when you're young and you want to do is play in the dirt all day. But our mothers taught us many things.

Mothers are the ones who taught us to brush our teeth every morning along with many other hygienal necessities. (And yes, I realize that hygienal is not a word but that is one thing my mother never taught me. Although, I'm not sure the word hygienal ever came up during my childhood...)

Mothers are the ones who taught us to cook and clean and to take care of ourselves and others.

Mothers are the ones who taught us to respect others and to help those in need.

But mothers are also the ones who taught us to love.

Now, I'm not saying that dads don't teach us to love as well, but there's something about a mother's love that makes it seem so endless. This is the reason why mass was different than normal. These families all knew that going to mass and being good was something their mothers wanted. And because they know how much their mother loves them, they were determined to make this day everything she wanted, to show their love in return.

I'm sorry for those who don't have a mother, or those whose mother was not what she was supposed to be. I'm sorry for those who don't know what it's like to have a mother's love and to feel it with you wherever you go. I am grateful that I did have a wonderful mother. One who was caring and thoughtful, kind and loving. I wish I could be with her today to let her know that she did good, raising me. That I try to remember what she's taught me and that I will keep learning from her for the rest of my life. And I know she'll always be there when I need her help or even just a shoulder to cry on.

A mother's love knows no bounds. It molds us in to who we become. It encourages us to be the best we can be, it lifts us up when we've fallen.

I love you, mom. Happy Mother's Day.