"Only One Mother"

I remember hearing my mom lament, “The world can be a lonely place without your mother in it.” Her mother—my grandmother—had been in heaven for years, and most of us had gotten back into our routines. But there are some people we don’t forget and never quit missing. 

On this week when we think of our mothers, I am so thankful for the wonderful women I have to remember and look up to still.  I am thankful for friends who help model good mothering for me and for a sister and others who help fill in the gap left by my mom’s passing nearly sixteen years ago.

The longer I live, the more days there are that bear special significance—some happy and some sad. Many people in our midst need special love and attention.  So it is with joy for the mother I had, gratefulness for my own children, and prayers for friends that I offer you this little poem that I remember from my own childhood.

Only One Mother
by George Cooper

Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds that go singing by,
Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather.

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.