By ROY HARRIS
Momisms – I know that is not really a word but we writers have been known to invent new words now and then when we need them. I think you will agree that moms provide us with many sayings that could uniquely come only from mothers.
Do you remember some of those momisms?
Things like: I’m doing this for your own good. Don’t put that in your mouth, you don’t know where it’s been. If you’re too sick to go to school, you’re too sick 
Roy at age 10 with his mom, brother and a friendto play. What did I say the FIRST time? Get up from the front of that TV and go outside and play! If you don’t stop crying, I am going to give you something to cry about! Clean up your plate, there are starving children in Africa who would love to have those vegetables. Then there is always the classic, Always wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident.
William Ross Wallace said in a poem published in 1865 that the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.
There is no doubt that a mother’s impact on her children shapes the future world those children grow up in and become part of. There are many great men and women who have attested to the value and importance of their mothers. Probably the most well-known religious leader of our day, Dr. Billy Graham, said that only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.
What makes a good mom then? Good Question! Having never been one I’m sure I’m no expert, but I can say there are some good things our moms did for all of us.
PROVIDER – Moms began providing for us from the moment we began our existence in the womb. Her body went through a transformation that brought multiple risks to her own personal health. She ate for two and provided the nourishment that developed us into full grown babies. After we arrived, she spent the next eighteen plus years providing our physical and emotional needs. It was mom who made sure we had clean socks and underwear and that we didn’t leave home dressed like clowns.
PROTECTOR – Moms began protecting us before we were born and keeps on protecting us the rest of their lives. They made us wear our hats and gloves, boots and rain coats and told us when to get in out of the rain. When we got sick they smothered us with VICK’s salve, warmed our innards with chicken soup and stood guard by our beds until we were ready to report for duty, back to the schoolyard and playground. They warned us about the wrong kind of friends and sometimes stood toe to toe with the bully down the street.
PREPARER – Moms began preparing us to face the world early. They taught us lessons at home that helped us become successful in life. They taught us how to share. They taught us boundaries. They taught us good table manners. They were homework experts and homework enforcers. They taught us the art of matching clothes, combing our hair, brushing our teeth and putting on exactly the right kinds and amount of makeup. The basics of life were learned from the hands, eyes and words of moms.
PRAYER – Abraham Lincoln once said I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me and clung to me all my life. Praying mothers produce prayerful children (that quote, is one of mine). Mothers demonstrate unconditional love, compassion, generosity, inclusion, warmth and host of other attributes that also are present with our Heavenly Father. If you grow up in that kind of environment and hear your mother praying for you as a child, there is just something about a mother’s prayers that you can never completely get away from. Those prayers follow and speak to you the rest of your life.
We take one day a year to officially celebrate motherhood and appreciate our moms. We really should do it much more often. If your mother is still with us, don’t miss this great opportunity to show her that you love and appreciate her. Send a card, give her a call and take her out to eat. If your wife is the mother of your children, do something special for her and I don’t mean buy her a new mop.
Come to think of it there isn’t just Something About Moms, there are Several Things About Moms that are special and important.
Thanks Mom for: PROVIDING what I needed, PREPARING me to be successful, PROTECTING me from all the harm you could and PRAYING for me. Your prayers have followed and clung to me all the days of my life.