This Sunday will mark my second Mother’s Day and as I was busily running errands today trying to get my last minute Mother’s Day gifts together, I started to think about the millions of people who won’t be celebrating Mother’s Day.  Millions of people whose mothers are deceased, millions who are no longer in contact with their family and for some reason or another won’t be sending their mother a Mother’s Day card or a bouquet of flowers….and millions who don’t even know who their real mothers are. 

Despite the commercialism that surrounds many of our holidays, Mother’s Day has always been a special day for me to reflect upon all the women in my life who have loved me as a mother should…..and who’ve served as my nurturer, my role model, my advisor, my friend and my protector through the years.  From my great-grandmother who served as my cheerleader, always encouraging me to do well in school even at a very young age….or my biological mother who supported my decision to expand my horizon and travel to another district for high school…..or my grandmother Gwen who always came to my school performances, awards banquets, assemblies and graduations….to my mother-in-law who has served as my advisor, my life coach and my role model when it comes to balancing God, family and career.  All these and countless other women have played an integral part in developing my maternal makeup…which in years to come Rufus will appreciate. 

What I’ve learned over the years and continue to see at work day after day is the reflection and manifestation of a mother’s love in the lives of her children—biological or not.  This love is able to transcend blood lines and develop into an impermeable bond between mother and child that lasts throughout the years, through the loss of a spouse, through the loss of physical or emotional health and provides us with the key to understanding the true power of a mother’s love.

Not long ago I was taking care of a 92 year old woman who had been visiting South Florida from upstate New York and was admitted to the hospital after suffering a fall.  She had known osteoporosis and already had significant curvature of her spine limiting her ability to walk long distances.  After her fall, we found that she had a new fracture in her spine but because of her advanced age and the risks involved with surgery, she opted to forego surgery and start with physical therapy.  When I first walked into her hospital room she was sitting alone in her chair and I silently wondered how this 92 year old woman could have traveled all the way to Florida from New York all by herself and then walked in a younger woman in her late fifties.  The friendly banter between the two women quickly led me to conclude that the younger woman was her daughter….but I was wrong.  The younger woman was her daughter-in-law.  I was pleasantly surprised but not shocked at the revelation since I myself have a very strong bond with my mother-in-law.  

I wanted to know more about their plans to return to New York so I sat down on the edge of the bed and listened as the younger woman explained that she had already called the airlines to verify that they’d have direct flights from Florida to New York and available first-class seats.  She had already contacted her own physician to arrange direct airport transfer to an assisted living facility where her mother-in-law would stay, have available nursing care and get the physical therapy and rehabilitation she needed.  The younger woman must have sensed my unspoken question and told me that her mother-in-law had wanted to take one last trip to Florida while she still could and so she arranged to travel with her mother-in-law for her last hoorah in South Florida.  She was able to fulfill one of her mother-in-law’s last requests and she did it out of love….plain and simple. 

So as we look to our mothers….to those who have played the role of mother in our lives….remember this story of a woman and her mother-in-law and you’ll see the incredible power of love in this generation and in generations to come.

Happy Mother’s Day!

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

This entry was posted on Friday, May 11th, 2007 at 9:29 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.