Mother’s Day

"Mother's Day" by Elizabeth Gordon is a heartfelt exploration of the significance of motherhood and the deep bonds between mothers and their children. Through poignant narratives and relatable experiences, the book celebrates the love, sacrifices, and challenges that mothers face, highlighting the universal themes of resilience and nurturing. With a blend of personal anecdotes and cultural reflections, Gordon crafts a tribute that honors mothers everywhere, making it a perfect read for anyone seeking to appreciate the special role of mothers in our lives.

• Children
• Short story

								
“I wish Somebody would help me with this greeting for Mother’s
Day,” said the boy named Billy. “I can’t think of anything; and
we get marked on it in school, too.”

“Upon whose work do you usually get marks?” asked Big Sister.

“Why, my own, of course,” flashed Billy, “but this is different.”

“It will be easy,” said Somebody, “if you will just think about
Mother and write what you would like to say to her.”

“Mom’s the best thing in the world,” said Billy, “but these are
to be read aloud and the other fellows would call me sissy!”

“When President Garfield was inaugurated,” said Somebody quietly,
“the very first thing he did after taking the oath of office was
to kiss his mother.”

“With everybody looking on?” asked Billy.

“Yes, with everybody looking on,” said Somebody. “That was his
big and splendid way of telling everybody just what he thought of
his mother and of thanking her for all the things she had done
for him.”

“Being his mother was enough,” said the boy named Billy, “what
more did she do for him?”

“His father died when he was just three years old,” said
Somebody, “leaving his mother nothing in the world except a
stony farm in the wilderness. She had to work the farm with the
help of her eldest son, who was fourteen years old, and also do
all the work of the house. Indeed, there was one summer when she
lived on one scanty meal a day so that the children might have
enough. This made a great impression on James, who resolved that
when he grew up he would take great care of her.

“Washington said he owed his success in life to his mother, who
gave him his strict sense of honesty and fairness.

“Napoleon said of his mother, ‘She watched over us with devotion,
and allowed nothing but what was good and elevating to take root
in our understanding.’

“Abraham Lincoln’s mother died when Abraham was ten years old,
but she had taught him all she knew of reading, writing, and
arithmetic, and also to take pains with everything he did, and to
love God and fear no man.

“Although Lincoln never forgot his own dear mother, it was to his
father’s second wife that he often said he owed his success, as
she almost moved heaven and earth to give him an education.”

“Have we always had Mother’s Day?” asked Billy.

“No, indeed,” said Somebody. “It’s quite recent. Miss Anna Jarvis
of Philadelphia, who lost her own dear mother in 1906, presented
the world with the idea of setting aside a day for the honoring
and remembering of all mothers. The world was ready for the idea,
and gladly took it up, and so we have this beautiful custom,
which is yearly growing stronger, of remembering our mothers in
some special way, sending a flower or a greeting, and wearing
a white carnation to show our love and devotion to our own
particular mother.”

“Well,” said the boy named Billy, “Mom’s the best thing in the
world any way.”

“Then say so,” said Somebody, “right out in meeting.”

“I will!” said Billy.
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