We All Need A Pit Stop In The Race Of Life

After an elementary teacher gave a science lesson on magnets, she gave her students a quiz to see how much they had learned. One of the questions read, “My name starts with M. I have six letters and I pick up things. What am I?” Half the class answered with the six-letter word Mother.

Thank goodness God made mothers because mothers not only pick up things, they pick us up. Who is the first person you think about when you fall down and go boom? Chances are it is your mother.

God had a great idea when he invented mothers. I have the old fashion kind of mom. She still thinks that the kitchen is for something other than resale value. The breakfast I had was a little like heaven — biscuits, cream gravy, bacon, and sausage — a cholesterol picnic. It was wonderful.

Mom cooked from scratch and made clothes from scratch. Now there were some unpleasant times in my childhood. I guess everyone has his or her dysfunction. It was those times when Mom made me go to Cloth World or Cloth Barn or City of Cloth. These stores were always off by themselves, no place to go or run to, just mom and me in Cloth Hell. I felt so feminine. It was traumatic. I’ve since joined a group called Adult Children of Seamstress Anonymous, and am actually two steps away from walking through Cloth World without wetting my pants.

Moms are different now. They don’t have as much time to spend with their children. It starts early. They only get one night in a hospital to have a baby. Now I know what HMO stands for: Hurry Mothers Out. I guess moms have to work harder than ever.

We know evolution isn’t true. Otherwise why do mothers still only have two hands and politicians only one mouth?

Being a mother is tough. You know you’re a mother when you understand everything the family dog says, or when you have a reoccurring dream that you are the agitator of the washing machine and you’re off balance. You know you’re a mother when one of your biggest fears is that there will be carpooling in heaven, or when you think Barney is a real person.

And of course kids get into as much trouble as ever. One kid said his mother said a prayer for him every night. She prayed, “Thank God he’s in bed.”

I heard about a lady who had finished a backbreaking job of stripping the kitchen floor and re-waxing it for Christmas. She heard her husband say, “Kids, your mother has worked hard on this floor, see how nice and clean it looks? I want you to be careful because any of you who spill anything on the floor has to clean it up first, go to the spare room, close the door and stay there by yourself for an hour.” The lady heard this, spilled coffee on the floor, cleaned it up, ran to the room and no one saw her for an hour.

Motherhood is filled with frustration, difficulty, and challenges, but eventually they move out.

Mothers want the best for their children. A guy told his buddy that he had given up on dating. The friend asked, “What’s wrong? Can’t find anyone good enough for you?” He responded, “No, I can’t find anyone good enough for my mother.”

Of course, you can never forget your loyalty to your mom. While standing at attention during a parade, a private started to wave at a woman in the audience. The drill sergeant sternly warned the private, “Jones, don’t ever do that again!” A few minutes later however, the private waved again. The sergeant became livid at Jones and pointed out the dangers of disobeying a superior officer and shouted a few severe threats. Jones still seemed remorseless. The sergeant said, “Boy, aren’t you afraid of me and what I could do to you?” Jones replied, “Oh, yes sir, but you don’t know my mother.” He’s a lot like a police recruit who was asked during the exam, “What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?” The recruit answered, “I’d call for backup.”

Mothers aren’t perfect. They sometimes talk a little too much. A couple of kids went to their father with a question. He said, “Go ask your mother.” The children responded, “We don’t want to know that much.”

Life isn’t as scary with a mom around. It’s like the story of the little boy who was in first grade. He strutted in front of his classmates and proclaimed, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a lion tamer. I’ll have lots of fierce lions and when I walk in the cage, they will roar.” He paused a moment and looked at his classmates’ faces and then added, “Of course, I’ll have my mother with me.”

There is just something about having your mom with you. If life is like a grueling race, then time with mom is like a pit stop. It is a time of refreshment. Even my girls, who have babies of their own, still call home and it’s evident they just need their mom. The race is hard and they need a pit stop. When I fly through Dallas I like to stop at Mom’s and just spend a little time, have a great breakfast, and even
take her to Cloth World.

A little boy was in the Easter play. He was fortunate to have the part of Jesus and one of his lines was, “I am the light of the world.” He got to that line and forgot it. His mother just had to help. You know
how mothers are. She moved out of the audience and stood in front so she could help him. He looked at his mother and she mouthed the words, “I am the light of the world.” He smiled at his mother, turned to the audience and said, “My mother is the light of the world.”

Mothers may not be the light of the world but they definitely brighten it up. Probably because they reflect so much of God’s love.

Charles S. Lowery, Ph.D. is president and CEO of Lowery Institute for Excellence, Inc., a non-profit training and consulting organization. Dr. Lowery’s diverse background includes private practice, college professor, management consultant and corporate motivator. Charles’ unique style of humor, encouragement, and motivation has made him one of the most sought after speakers in the country.

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