Happy Mother’s day to all who have experienced the joy of motherhood, and to the rest of us who wouldn’t be here without them
Mothers Past
This is often a difficult day for me. The two most important moms in my life have passed and this is a day that I most think of them both. The most obvious one, Betty Bruning, my mom. There is nothing else to say other than I miss her. We have had our battles, but there was never anything other than love.
The second mom is the mother of our only child, Ben Bruning. Kay always had faith in me, and always had something good to say about anything or anybody. She definitely passed too early, but she has had a lasting influence on me, and Ben. When she as losing a her fight against breast cancer one of her doctors told her that her legacy would be how she handled her death. She took that as just another challenge and I will always remember her in those final days. It was as sad a time as I have ever had, but her courage and attitude during those days give me a role model to try to emulate.
Mothers Present
Now to the current mothers in my file. The first is my mother-in-law, Lorri Van de Castle (hasn’t Hallmark come up in *-in-law day yet?) She is such a joy to be around at 80+ years old. She was playing on the floor with her grandkids not that long ago. Now she is taking incredible care of her husband who is experiencing the travails of growing older as many others have. Lorrie certainly has had a lot on her plate, and there are times that the frustration and workload get to her, but who doesn’t have those sorts of days.
The final is the mother of our grandchild, Evelyn, and the mother to be of someone we are currently calling ‘deux’. We didn’t know the gender of the first, and when she was born I still can’t believe my reaction. Ten minutes before she was born I was like ‘Being a grandpa will be nice’, and then when I heard I had to pull the car over (we were on the Merritt Parkway on our way to PEI) to cry tears of joy. That is a moment I will never forget.
So: Have a day when you can reflect on the greatest gift you can give to the world.
Updated: Post to twitter and facebook