How to Survive Mother’s Day Without Your Mother

He'd had the marker replaced a few years before with smooth white granite. She'd

have considered that a foolish expense, but he'd needed to do something.

It held her name. Susan Lee Hawke. And the span of her life, that short forty-six

years. Beneath, in script, was the line he'd paraphrased from Emily Dickinson.

Hope perches in the soul

She'd never lost hope. She'd lived her life believing in the power of hope, and

faith, leavened with good, hard work. Even when the sickness had eaten away her

beauty, had whittled her down to brittle bones she'd had hope.

For him, Jordan thought now. She'd had hope for him, believed in him, and had

loved him without qualification.

He crouched down to lay the flowers on her grave.

"I miss you, Mom. I miss talking to you, and hearing you laugh. I miss seeing that

look in your eye that told me I was in trouble. And even when I was, you were

there for me. You were always there for me."

Key of Knowledge

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By Lupus in Saxonia - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50750390

Remember that mother-child relationships are complicated—and any way you feel about the day is totally appropriate

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He closed his eyes a moment. "It hurts to be here. I guess it's supposed to." He

touched his fingers to his lips, then pressed his fingers to the stone. "I love you. I'll

come back."

Key of Knowledge

On Mother's Day and beyond...

...I would like to thank Dan and Jason and all the Sons and Daughters that share their Amazing Mothers with me.

Your mothers enrich countless lives around the world, and inspire many with skills and free-giving of themselves.

So thank you for all you did, or didn't do, that allowed them to be, also, ours. Even if "only" during, and through, a book, a tv appearance, a movie, a nice word at the school gate...

By Ion Chibzii from Chisinau. , Moldova. - "Hands of mother - 2"., CC BY-SA 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12799400

Compliment Your Mom

How a Man Treats His Mother Tells You Everything You Need to Know

How a Man Treats His Mother Tells You Everything You Need to Know

Noah murmured, and earned a punch of his own.

“But you sure are pretty, Mom. Isn’t she pretty?” He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“You think that gets around me?”

He scooped up potatoes. “Yeah.”

And that’s what did it for Val. How could she hold back against a boy who so clearly loved his mother? She lifted a basket, offered it. “Have another roll, Noah.”

“Thanks.” This time when he smiled at her, she smiled back.

River's End

________________

I once dated a man who screamed bloody murder at his own mother in front of me — plus my own mother. When I broke that relationship off, my mom and I whispered what we both had long known to be true: “If he treats his mom like that, how will he treat other women?”

The answer: Terribly.

So on my second date with my now-husband, I told him straight-up — half out of self-preservation, half out of fear — “I’ve always said, if you want to know if a guy is safe to date, see how he treats his mom.”

“Is that so?” Pat replied with a smile.

NYMAG