There is a special day this month that I pray we don’t take for granted. It is a day to give thanks to the woman in our lives who either gave birth to us or raised us as if she did. She is our mother, adoptive mother, foster mother, stepmother. Sometimes Mother’s Day passes without us truly appreciating the impact of our mothers. How would your life be without her influence? I can say, from the bottom of my heart, that I would not be the woman I am today without my mother, Freda Cain.
She raised six children, five girls and one boy, with love, faith, and determination. It wasn’t easy because she was a divorced, single mom for many years with no financial support. She had secretarial skills, as a salary, to pay for all the needs of a large family and she also worked part-time cleaning an office. Mom taught us never to be afraid of hard work. She never stopped cooking, washing clothes, grocery shopping, shuttling us, making small car repairs on our used cars, repairing things around the house. She taught us to be strong, independent and self-sufficient.
We would sometimes help her at her cleaning job and I remember one of many lessons she taught me then that has propelled me throughout life. I was sweeping a floor and, not doing it very well, when Mom said, “If you’re not going to do it your best, then don’t do it at all.” To this day, I am compelled to always do my best. Mom didn’t mean that my best had to be better than anyone else’s. We were raised with too much Christian humility for that. She simply meant, “Do your best.” She had expectations for us to be good, compassionate, hardworking adults. We were poor, but rich in values. We wore a lot of “hand-me-downs;” Mom stretched our food so that we were never hungry; she scrimped and saved so that we always had Christmas and birthday presents; and she raised us in a church that helped our family when times were tough.
My Mom would say she could have done some things better, but I pray that we stop holding the magnifying glass up to our mothers and finding fault. They did the best they could with what they knew.
If you were raised by a good mother, forgive her imperfections. Don’t take for granted a mother’s sacrifice and unconditional love. On Mother’s Day, take time to genuinely thank them. Listen to them. Continue to learn from them. And spend more time with your Moms. Tomorrow isn’t promised.
I wrote my mother a song long ago and, in the chorus, stated: “Mama, wherever I may go you’re with me ‘cause you shaped me from a child into a woman.” I am forever a part of you, Mom. Thank you. I love you deeply and always. On the community page of wthr.com, I’ve listed ways you can celebrate your mom on Mother’s Day.
Angela Cain is the Community Affairs Director at WTHR Channel 13. You can email comments to her at acain@wthr.com.
