Mother’s Day means lots of different things for different people, and at Manopause.com we know that a mother can be a multitude of things. This year, we reached out to our team and a handful of our writers to tell us a story about their own mothers or what “mom” means to them. Below, you will see a broad scope of men and women of different ages and upbringings, who share their own handful of words. At the end of the day, this is a holiday about casting appreciation on the most influential caretakers in our lives.
The takeaway? Tell the women who raised you how much they mean to you, as often as you can. They deserve it.
If my mom was guilty of anything it would be that she loved and cared too much. After losing most of her family during WWII, she also thought she was unable to have children based on medical testing which was conducted on her in Auschwitz. Needless to say, her pregnancy was a pleasant surprise and she was as caring a mother as any child could have. Family was important to her, and after the war, when she discovered her father was alive in the US—with three new kids of his own—she was in heaven, knowing she had two sisters and a brother.
She never had much success in marriage, and outlived three husbands, but she was blessed to have good health until she passed in 2009 at the age of 90. Her mind was still sharp though her body was giving out, but her resilience and survival power gave me incredible strength when I faced my own battles in my life. If she could endure what she dealt with over three years in Hell, then no amount of adversity would ever defeat me, either.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.
-Norm Bour
Being born a late November baby, I had the option to start school in the fall before turning 5 or wait until the fall before turning 6. Lucky enough to be able to have my mom home all of my childhood, as you can imagine, we were thick as thieves. Reluctantly, we headed off to drop me at my first day of kindergarten when I was nearly 5 years old. We got to the front drop-off area and my mom asked me if I was ready to start school. When I answered with a quiet “no”, she said “me either” and drove away and then all the way home. Needless to say, we got another year of hanging out before I set off to my first real day of school a year later.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. Thank you for being the most honest human I’ve ever known and letting me always do stuff in my own time.
-Jaime Garza
So many of my memories of my mom are about her enthusiastic support of me. Her advice was always what I needed when I needed it! Take my wedding. I was nervous, and maybe even reluctant, about getting married way back when. When I told my mom, she said “you better grab her, Larry, because she’s good for you, and I Iove her too!” Needless to say, 38 years later, she was right! Thanks Mom!
-Larry Pollack
When I was younger, superheroes weren’t my thing, I never needed them – I had my Mom. There was nothing she couldn’t do, no problem she couldn’t solve, no experience she couldn’t make better. It wasn’t until I was a young adult that I realized my Mom was actually human herself – she wasn’t indestructible, she had her not so easy days, she experienced heartache and loss and there were, in fact, some problems she could not solve. Once I was able to see my Mom as an actual person who had her own life, own experiences, own hardships – that was when she truly became my hero. She is my greatest role model and even though she may not wear a cape and have “superpowers”, I am in awe of her every single day.
-Amanda Carruthers
I am still blessed to have my Mom on earth at the age of 84 and feel grateful every day that I get one more day. She is still living on her own, in the house my Dad and her purchased in the 1970’s. She is quite the Mom, who raised 5 children, and at one point had a newborn, a 1 year old, a 2 year old, and a 3 year old, at the same time. Then, five years later, another! That makes me go crazy just thinking about it. She did it without much help from anyone else, since my Dad was the working man, and she was the housewife. She has a lot of loss in her life, including our dad who passed away just short of 50 years of marriage. She had to also bear the loss of her youngest daughter, almost 10 years ago to cancer, as well as two step children she loved as her own, who are now gone before her.
She has a midwest mentality, but lived most of her life in California. She was born in a small farm town called Perry, Missouri that we hope to visit again soon to see her brother and family. This is where she got her hard working values and morals, and the love of family. Luckily she has passed that down to me. My mom is my Rock, my Friend, my number one supporter and the one that has always been there for me, my siblings, and anyone that needed her. Always a Mom and Grandma first, but a retired Bank Vault teller for most of her life. She still has a sharp mind, but her body isn’t always following suit, even though she is still healthy, just slower and harder to get around. It is my turn now to help take care of her, after she took care of everyone else. It is my pleasure and honor to wish the Happiest of Mother’s Day to my Mom, and to all those Moms who are the rocks of their family!
-Lori Koenig
This one day, in mid-summer, I had to be maybe, 7 or 8, I decided to start a business selling lemonade on our street just outside our house. I went down to the appliance store, dragged a refrigerator box up our hill, cut out a door and a flip-down window. I could see mom watching from the kitchen window as I decorated the box with flowers. I went inside, made the lemonade, and grabbed a bunch of paper cups. Mom stepped back and let me do my work. I got my items together, and went out to sell lemonade! It was going really well, and then the girl who lived across the street came outside with HER mom and they set up a table,brought out lemonade, and together they made a sign. I was pissed!
I ran inside and said,”MOM! Elise just set up a lemonade stand! She’s copying me, and going to take my business away!”
-Chris Suhre
Mom calmly looked at me and said, “Imitation is the best form of flattery..now go out and sell your lemonade!” I took that advice, as always, and it wasn’t but maybe a half hour later, with no sales, Elise and her mom closed up shop. I sold lemonade for days after that. Lesson learned. The thing about Mom, is that she was brilliant. She would never cower to threats or competition. She taught me integrity, empathy and good sense. She taught me what was real and what was not. She taught me what was important and what wasn’t. She never had to say much, she was the example.
Growing up raised by a single dad, Mother’s Day was always a difficult holiday for me in school. I was fortunate enough to have my grandmother as a constant presence and my dad always took us to pick out flowers for her on the holiday. Once I reached secondary school, I started realizing I should be wishing my DAD a Happy Mother’s Day because he truly took on both roles. Once I started doing this, I realized that I wasn’t cheated for not having my mother around, I was beyond fortunate to have a dad who could do it all.
– Jenn Gillard
My mother grew up with the dream of becoming a nurse. She however fell in love and decided to get married and follow my dad through his dental school journey which didn’t permit her to go to nursing school which was in a different city. After 30 years, 4 children, a jewelry business, and tons of volunteering she decided to fulfill her lifelong dream. At age 50 she went to college, got her nursing credentials and worked for the next 20+ years in a profession she loved. Many were touched by her compassion and love of helping others, but for me it was her determination of not giving up on her dream and making her professional dreams a reality after half a century! Thinking of her passion and determination gives me great inspiration. She was married to my dad for 60 years and he supported her dreams as she had done his…
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, we miss you. xx
-Julie Carruthers
Kindness, Compassion & Giving. These are all wonderful traits I learned from my mom. It started when I was a young boy watching her always taking care of people in need. From feeding the homeless to taking gifts & food to poor children and their parents during the holidays. These lessons learned at such a young age have taught me the same distinguishing qualities that I have passed on to my kids. She will always be remembered.
I love you Mom…
-Mike Essrig
My mother didn’t know who I was when she died. Years of dementia had robbed her of that cognitive skill. Whenever I visited her at the nursing home, where she “lived” the last two years of her life, she would introduce me as her brother Joe. I remember her often telling me years earlier, pre-dementia, that no matter how old I got, I’d always be her loving son. My mom passed away a decade ago, and as long as my memory holds out, I’ll always remember her as my loving mother.
-Larry Checco
I Will Always Remember My Mom’s Sagacity. From a very early age, she impounded in the minds of my brother and I guidance which would remain with us forever: for every incident which occurred in our lives there was a deep lesson to be learned. We were to learn this at the ages of 5 and 6 respectively. We had a pillow fight. But this was no ordinary pillow squirmish, as we slashed open the contents of several pillows and in joyful and youthful exuberance cascaded thousands of feathers from our bedroom window onto the street below. Our neighbours were naturally outraged as they gazed at the mass of soggy, begrimed feathers stuck to the street. We feared the worst, but my mom did not explode with expected anger.
Instead, she calmly ensured that we pick up every sodden feather in the pouring rain – a task which was to take several hours. From that moment on, we were to learn that for every incident in our lives there was a valuable lesson to be learned. Even in adulthood, I have looked for what I can learn from every mishap in my life, no matter how seemingly trivial or prodigious it has appeared. I have encouraged my own children and thousands of young people I have taught to do the same. My mom’s sound advice has profoundly impacted my life. Sadly she has passed, but her sagacity will always be with me: there is a valuable lesson to be learned from every incident.
-Barrie Street
Bacon and Egg Sandwiches, “Bacon Burgers,” Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Banana Nut Muffins, Beef Enchiladas, Beef Stew, Beer Batter Drop Biscuits, Blackened Redfish, Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce, Cake Doughnuts, Caramels, Carrot Cake, Cheese Soup, Chicken And Dumplings, Chile Con Queso, Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Pie, Shrimp Chow Mein, Christmas Ham, Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Corn on the Cob, Cornbread, Cream Cheese Kolaches, Creamed Potatoes, Date Nut Bars, Divinity, Fresh Baked Bread, Fried Scallops, Fried Shrimp, Fudge Brownies, Gingerbread, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Grits, Home Made Ice Cream, Klobasnek, Lemon Meringue Pie, Macaroni And Cheese, Macaroons, Meat Loaf, Oatmeal, Oatmeal Cookies, Peanut Brittle, Pecan Pie, Pork Chops, Potato Soup, Pound Cake, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Pie, Rice Pudding, Roast and Gravy, Shrimp Cocktail, Shrimp Creole, Smoked Ham, Stuffed Green Peppers, Tenderloin, Tomato Soup, Venison Jerky, White Wedding Cake and Icing, Yellow Cake With Chocolate Icing, and much, much more from an amazing kitchen! What’s not to love?
Happy Mother’s Day!
-Reeves Motal
I remember my mom saying to me when she was about 78, “I don’t care anymore what people think. I’m too old to not just be myself.” That is one of the great gifts of Eldership. Seniors, whether women or men, typically reveal who they are with great abandon. They’re a wonderful model for children, especially teens, who can be too fearful or inhibited to express their true selves.
-Frederick Marx
