Best of the Welcome Columns


Best of the Welcome Columns

Author: Daniel, Bert
Your Mother Is Always With You

(Editor’s Note: We’re sorry for not getting Bert’s Welcome posted yesterday but, hey, what’s twenty-four hours among friends? As usual, Bert’s written a good one, so enjoy.) Today is Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there! And I hope that all of you Parkfield jammers are honoring the mothers of this world by singing songs from among the many classics that Bluegrass has to offer about the subject of motherhood. Let’s face it, for anybody that’s ever been born, a mother has to be the most important person in the world! These days, Mother’s Day for me is all about the mother of my two wonderful kids, my darling wife Joyce. On her weekend, we do whatever she wants to do. I’d love to take Joyce to the Parkfield festival some year for Mother’s Day. I’ve heard so many great things about that festival. But Joyce doesn’t like Bluegrass at all. In fact one of my gifts to her today will be to refrain from playing any Bluegrass at all. (At the very least, I’ll make sure she can’t hear it if I do play my instrument, off in some nook or cranny). We’ll go on a bike ride with the kids and eat a fine meal at a restaurant. Mom will have a great day with all of us. But there are also other mothers we think of on this day that honors all mothers. Joyce will certainly call her mother and wish her well. We’ll all talk to Grandma and wish her a happy Mother’s Day. I wish I could call my mom, but she passed away quite some time ago. No doubt many of you are in the same boat as I am. Orphans, all of us. Mother’s not dead. She’s only a sleepin’ Just patiently waitin’ for Jesus to come The birds will sing o’er,; while mother’s a sleepin’ They will sing o’er; as the grave sinks away But we orphans still think about our dear departed moms don’t we? And not just on Mother’s Day. Hopefully, your mom is with you all the time. Recently, my girl told me about some difficulty she was having with her advanced math class. Juliet is a hard working genius kind of kid, but she was really stressed out because the class was really hard and she was worried her next grade would be a total disaster and ruin her life. What did I do? Simple, I just told her about the time I was close to flunking out of college and I called my mom to let her know I was at my wit’s end. I was so worried she would be disappointed in me that I could hardly bear to confess my inadequacies. I knew my parents were proud of me for getting into a big name eastern school. My mom listened calmly and told me exactly what I needed to hear at the time. It’s OK to flunk out! Just do your best and be happy. Come home and finish college at the local community college. Be a teacher. Make a difference and teach others! Whatever. Just be happy. Don’t worry so much about what other people expect from you! It’s your life. Well, that advice got me through college. I turned things around because the pressure no longer overwhelmed me. I hope my advice to my daughter was as good as my mother’s counsel had been for me. I feel sorry for kids who don’t have a mother. What could be sadder than a motherless child? And I really admire families who take in foster children to give them some of that mother’s love that everyone should have. I really miss my mom. Sometimes I like to imagine that she’s still with me. Actually, she is! I was dreaming of a little cabin, when I heard somebody call my name. I turned and saw a sweet old lady, and I knew I was a child again. She gently put her arms around me, and kissed her little boy once more. And I knew it was that same sweet mother, who had kissed me many times before. Happy Mother’s Day all of you!

Posted: 5/10/2010