Re: The Special Mother

[Guest guest]

Ditto Mo! This time of year makes me thankful for each of you. I'd

never have made it through this year without you all.

re: but she is to be envied.

So true, our kids are perfect, take us outside our world and into

theirs. It is they who accommodate us and not the other way around.

All children are teachers but our children are a cut above and teach

us lessons that change us completely in all the best ways.

>

> Happy Holiday to all the moms! we deserve it!

>

> The Special Mother

>

> By Erma Bombeck

>

> Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by

social

> pressure and a couple by habit.

> This year nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped

> children.

> Did you ever wonder how these mothers are chosen?

> Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth

> Selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and

> deliberation.

> As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant

ledger.

> " Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint, . "

> " Forrest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia. "

> " Rutledge, , twins. Patron Saint...give her Gerard. He's used

to

> profanity. "

> Finally he passes a name to an angel and smiles. " Give her a

handicapped

> child. "

> The angel is curious. " Why this one, God? She's so happy. "

> " Exactly, " smiles God. " Could I give a handicapped child a mother

who

> knows

> no laughter?

> That would be cruel. "

>

>

>

> " But does she have the patience? " asks the angel.

> " I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a

sea of

> self-pity and despair.

> Once the shock and resentment wear off she'll handle it. "

> " I watched her today.

> She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so

necessary in a

> mother.

> You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of its own.

> She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be

easy. "

> " But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you. "

> God smiles. " No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She

has just

> enough selfishness. "

> The angel gasps, " Selfishness? Is that a virtue? "

> God nods. " If she can't separate herself from the child

occasionally, she

> will never survive.

> Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than

perfect.

> She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied.

> She will never take for granted a spoken word.

> She will never consider a step ordinary.

> When her child says momma for the first time, she will be witness

to a

> miracle and know it.

> I will permit her to see clearly the things I see--ignorance,

cruelty,

> prejudice--and allow her to rise above them.

> She will never be alone.

> I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life

> Because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side. "

> " And what about her Patron Saint? " asks the angel, his pen poised

in the

> air. God smiles.

> " A mirror will suffice. "

>