Hi,
Mother's Day is just around the corner, and I want to wish all you mothers out there a very happy Mother's Day.
My beloved mother has been gone for several years, and I have a lot of special and happy memories of my days with her. She and my dad raised 10 children (3 boys, 7 girls), all born and raised in Murphysboro. We were a happy bunch, and we always spent the holidays together, even after we were married and had families of our own.
I am the mother of three girls and one boy. It's been a pleasure seeing them all grow up, and they have given me eight grandsons, three great grandsons, and after 40 years I also have six great grand daughters and one on the way. I am very proud of all of them. They are all settled now. Some in Chicago. Some in Springfield. Some in Shelbyville, Ky., and me in Murphysboro. I get to see them pretty often.
We are enjoying a visit from an old friend of ours, Bobby Vancil, from Florida. He lived here for a while in our neighborhood. He comes to visit every once in a while. He is my next door neighbor's, Tootie Vancil, stepson. He is a great guy to be around. He has personality plus!
My gem... Did you hear about the golfer who always took two pairs of trousers with him when he played, just in case in he got a "hole in one."
Today, for all the mothers out there, I'd like to present one of my favorite stories by Erma Bombeck on "When God Created Mothers."
When God Created Mothers
When the good Lord was creating mothers He was into His sixth day of "overtime" when the angel appeared and said, "You’re doing a lot of fiddling around this one."
And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; Have 180 moveable parts... all replaceable; Run on black coffee and leftovers; Have a lap that disappears when she stands up; A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair; And six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands... no way."
"It’s not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord. "It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have."
"That’s on the standard model?" asked the angel.
The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, "What are you kids doing in there?" when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say, "I understand and I Love You" without so much as uttering a word."
"Lord", said the angel, toughing His sleeve gently, "Come to bed. Tomorrow..."
"I can’t," said the Lord, "I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick... can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger... and can get a nine-year-old to stand under a shower."
The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. "It’s too soft," she sighed.
"But tough!" said the Lord excitedly. "You cannot imagine what this mother can do or endure."
"Can it think?"
"Not only think, but it can reason and compromise," said the Creator.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. "There’s a leak," she pronounced. "I told You. You were trying to put too much into this model."
"It’s not a leak," said the Lord, "it’s a tear."
"What’s it for?"
"It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness and pride."
"You are a genius," said the angel.
The Lord looked somber. "I didn’t put it there."
– Erma Bombeck
Murphysboro, Ill. —
