Happy Friday, RISERS! I hope this week has been good to you. Here we are in the final stretch to the end of the school year. One full week of May is complete, which brings us to the weekend–Mother’s Day weekend. I wish all mothers everywhere the best Mother’s Day ever!
Happy Birthday to all of you who turned a year older this past week. And Happy Anniversary to you and your loved one for reaching another milestone year together.
Quote of the Week: “Such a mysterious business, motherhood. How brave a woman must be to embark on it.” M.L. Stedman
Joke of the Week: What did the grape say to its mom? You did a grape job raisin me.
Throwback of the Week: One thing you may not have realized about me is that I get tickled and laugh hysterically at things most people wouldn’t. With this being Mother’s Day weekend, I want to take a blast to the past and mention the forever endearing commercial for the Outback Steakhouse. I could not find the exact timeline when this jingle came out, but Outback had a jingle where men sang about how special mothers are to their children.
“No one ever loves you like your Mum (Mum)
Everything we own we owe to Mum (owe to Mum)
Even when she whacks you on the bum (bum, Mum)
Mum’s the word, and so the word is Mum (the word is Mum).
This is definitely NOT a plug for taking your mothers out to dinner at the Outback, but a fun way to remember that mothers do a lot for their children.
Thoughts of the Week: We have been talking about things related to Mother’s Day. But the fact of the matter is that this day brings about mixed feelings. Feelings like not being a mother but longing to be one, or your mother has passed away, or for whatever reason, you cannot live at home with your mother, but someone else’s.
This year is the first year that I have no living mothers to celebrate with. My mother-in-law, of almost thirty-three years, passed away. Then, my stepmother, of almost thirty-seven years, passed away. Those two died within three months of each other. And this year, my mother passed away. Having no cards or gifts to send to any of them is heartbreaking. I’d love to hug each of them one more time.
What I wish for you this Mother’s Day is that you know you don’t have to spend money on your mother to make her happy. You would be surprised how much a hug, a phone call, or even doing the dishes after lunch would make her feel loved and appreciated. Mothers sometimes make mistakes, I know I have with all of my children. But a mother does all she can to make her children happy and healthy. So, take the time this weekend to show the mother(s) in your life how much she means to you.
Shout Out of the Week: This week, I want to give a shout-out to all the moms out there–single moms, foster & adoptive moms, and any other combination. Thank you for loving your children and other people’s children. Love does make the world go ‘round. As the Outback commercial says, “Mum’s the word and so the word is Mum!”
Have a great weekend. Remember, you are most awesome, and YOU ROCK!Marion Rhines is a foster-turned-adoptive parent. She lives in Knoxville, Tenn., with her husband and five children. She has written and published two children’s books as well as two foster-care-themed novels. She has a Facebook blog, Tips from the FLIP Side, and enjoys wor