Never Take Your Mama's Love For Granted

Yesterday, I had the chance to work with a group of school kids who were writing letters to their Mom's for Mother's Day. I had them start their letters with the same opening line. "You are very special to me." I guess I wanted to make sure that the Moms got a good dose of a loving statement right off the bat. Several of the kids were saying things like,"how about I love how she smiles?" me. Good, GO! "How about I like it when she makes me hot dogs?" YES, good one, go! "I love it when we cuddle." Yes, do it! Then came a little boy who was really a challenge. He could not think of anything to write to his Mom! I really had to pull things out of him. He said his Dad did everything! I was a little desperate at one point and asked him, "ok. Does your Mom have a car? And when you get in that car, where do you go with her?" He said "Shopping at the mall." And then he started writing down things like, I love it when you buy things for me. I love it when you give me birthday money. I love it when we go to the mall. I love it when we go to restaurants. He was really trying hard to come up with things and wanted to fill both sides of the paper. It seemed like he was doing more quantity than quality. This became very telling. I was a little sad that these were the only types of things he could come with. I guess I forget that some Moms just aren't as "motherish" as others. It was hard watching a sad little boy do this assignment. This morning, I was reminded of the song, "Mama." It's a sweet one for Mother's Day. Grab your tissues.