Damn, Joel, how are we supposed to post anything snarky after reading that?

Just lovely Joel, thanks for posting it. Your mom sounds like a great woman.

Very nice, Joel.

We have a motherhood tribute following a birthday wish for his daughter. We are all warm and fuzzy this week. All the vitriol must have gotten used up for the Outlook piece.

You can call me Raysmom, or you can call me Jaysmom, but ya doesn't have to call me Mrs. Johnson.

how about Mrs. Johnson999

I know, I know, it's warm-fuzzy week on the blog. Coming Monday: Iraq 24-7.

FYI, here's the transcript of that hearing yesterday where Linda Sanchez grilled Gonzales:

SANCHEZ >: Let's stop there.

Are you familiar with the former U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, Debra Wong Yang?

GONZALES: Yes.

: And are you aware the she resigned her position in October of 2006 and took a position with a private law firm?

GONZALES: Yes, I am.

: Do you have information as to whether Ms. Yang's resignation was entirely voluntary?

GONZALES: From what I know, Ms. Yang's resignation was entirely voluntary. She did a wonderful job and...

(CROSSTALK)

: Now, are you aware that when Ms. Yang went to this firm, she received what has been reported as a $1.5 million bonus for joining the private law firm?

GONZALES: I don't know what she received. But whatever it was, it was a bargain for the firm because she is an outstanding lawyer.

: Are you aware of any reason why she would have been given such an extraordinary bonus payment to hire an individual like her?

GONZALES: I suspect that given her outstanding qualifications, the fact that she's a woman, an Asian-American, would make her particularly attractive to a private firm.

: So you think a $1.5 million signing bonus is typical for a situation like that?

GONZALES: Again, that's a decision for that firm to make.

: Well, let me tell you what concerns me.

What concerns me are the reports of the same firm that hired Ms. Yang away from her post as a U.S. attorney, with a large bonus payment, also, coincidentally, happens to be the firm that represents Mr. Lewis in this matter. Does that coincidence trouble you at all?

GONZALES: Not at all, because, again, what we have to remember is that for -- the American people need to understand this -- is that these investigations are not run primarily by the United States attorneys. They're handled by assistant United States attorneys, career prosecutors. And so these...

: She had no role in the investigation of Mr. Lewis?

GONZALES: ... these investigations, these prosecutions continue, as they should.

This great institution is built to withstand departures of U.S. attorneys and attorneys general.

(CROSSTALK)

: So you don't think it's inappropriate for a U.S. attorney to accept a lucrative job offer from a law firm representing the target of one of their active investigations in a position that she held just prior to going to that law firm? You don't think that that's inappropriate?

GONZALES: Again...

: You don't think that there's perhaps at least an appearance of a conflict of interest...

(CROSSTALK)

GONZALES: Congresswoman , I'm presuming -- knowing Deb Yang the way that I do and the people in that firm -- is that she would be recused from anything related to that matter as a member of that firm.

And, again, what's important for the American people to understand is, despite her departure, that case will continue, as it should.

Joel, your mom sounds lovely. Thanks for sharing her with us.

TBG

My mom e-mails me a lot. She was trained as a typist. I still recall her typing a letter at our kitchen table and then yelling,

"Oh cr--. My fingers are on wrong."

Moms Rock.

"My crops are first class and everyone wants them."

An excellent situation to be in. Reminds me, somehow, of the little spring-irrigated lettuce farm adjacent to Reed College in Portland.

Thanks for sharing, Joel. If you can't get a little mushy on Mothers Day, when can you?

RD inspired me in the previous boodle with the list for his Mom. I'm not as clever as he is but here with my characteristically over-earnest tone, I did two lists:

TEN WAYS MY MOTHER IS A BETTER MOM THAN I COULD EVER BE:

1. She didn't make me feel guilty when she was spending most of her energy on her kids.
2. She never nagged about how messy (filthy) my room was.
3. She never criticized.
4. She never yelled.
5. She didn't stress out about grades or SAT's or college applications.
6. She never gave advice, just over and over said to me, "I'm sure you'll make the right decision." and "We just want you to be happy."
7. She let me make a mess in her kitchen so I could learn to cook.
8. She let me make a mess in her sewing room so I could learn to sew.
9. When I asked her the meaning of a word, she never said, "Go look it up." She told me the meaning or she looked it up herself and read it to me.
10. She made it all look easy.

Ten things I learned from my mom that made me a better mother myself:

1. Reading aloud is not just for toddlers.
2. Having a life of your own is one of the best gifts you can give your kids.
3. A strong marriage is a good foundation for a loving family.
4. Religious faith is personal, but if it's important enough to live by, it's important enough to share with your children.
5. Children don't need to be pushed to grow up and accept responsibility. Neither do they need to be held back from it. They will accept the appropriate amount of responsibility as long as they know they also have to accept the consequences of their actions.
6. It's not sad that kids grow up. It's actually wonderful, every phase of it.
7. The innocence of children is precious and worth protecting.
8. Parents are in charge and children should be expected to do as they are told.
9. When Dad is out of town, Mom can do whatever needs to be done.
10. "This too shall pass."

Dang, that was one inspirational letter. My mom is coming in to spend the weekend with us. Will be turning 69 this summer. Been worrying about that but that letter turns a lot of things on its head. Thanks for sharing.

Oh, and Gonzales, I've given up worrying about him; let him stay on and continue his winning performance as a putrid, rotten carcass of an albatross weighing down the straining neck of the Bush administration

I really like the notion that getting older means becoming free.

A very wise woman, your mom.

Excellent Joel. Ok, now where are those tissues...

kbertocci - actually, I think you put me to shame. That was really beautiful.

Oh heck. Now I'm getting all misty eyed.

Can't do that. I've got a rep to maintain.

Reposting from previous kit:

My wife just e-mailed me one of those &^%$ things where you are supposed to pass it on to 10 friends, etc. I hate those things, and always break the "chain" --and so far haven't been struck by lightning. Of course, this one is for breast cancer research and looks like a worthy cause (speaking of omni's beloved Laetitia Casta and her creamy, buttery Norman bosom); they are having trouble getting enough people to click on the "Fund a free Mammogram" button, which certainly seems like a worthy cause. http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/ Ah, if I only had 10 friends.

I've got my nose stuck tight in a book this morning--so Boodling is at minimum--trying to learn more about an obscure Loomis who *may* (more research needed) play a pivotal role in both the John Brown and U.S. Grant stories.

I'm reading about Gerritt Smith--in John Stauffer's (he of Harvard) "The Black Hearts of Men," a book that I was able to pick up this morning at our new, small branch library thanks to an inter-branch transfer--who was one of the "Secret Six," along with Samuel Gridley Howe.

Dr. Howe's wife wife was Julia Ward Howe, who played a BBBIIGGGGGGGGGGGGG role in the history of Mother's Day, besides writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," based on the John Brown song. It's all so circular.

http://www.rediscovermothersday.org/history.asp

Mother's Day was originally designated as a day to inspire people to work for peace. It was conceived after wars at home and abroad by American abolitionist and suffragist Julia Ward Howe.
Besides initiating the tradition of Mother's Day, Howe is best known as the author of the words to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". As a pacifist during the Civil War, she witnessed the devastating effects of the conflict through her work with widows and orphans. In 1870 she wrote the "Mother's Day Proclamation," a call to women to oppose war and to convene to promote peace and be the architects of their family's -- and their own -- political futures. She presented it at international peace conferences in London and Paris , where she lamented the atrocities of not only the American Civil War, but also the Franco-Prussian War.

Howe envisioned the first "Mother's Day" as a time for women to gather, grieve and determine a peaceful solution to war. Her "Mother's Day Proclamation" reads:

Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

In 1872 she continued to promote the power of motherhood and womanhood for peace by calling for a "Mother's Day for Peace," to be celebrated on June 2. In 1873, women in 18 American cities held Mother's Day for Peace gatherings. During Howe's lifetime there was never any formal recognition of Mother's Day, but Howe's efforts influenced Anna Jarvis, whose mother, also named Anna, had organized women during the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, calling for Mothers' Work Days.

After the death of her mother, daughter Anna Jarvis was determined to found a memorial day for women. She celebrated her first Mother's Day on May 10, 1908 , at the Methodist church where her mother had taught Sunday school. West Virginia Governor William E. Glasscock issued the first state-recognized Mother's Day proclamation on April 26, 1910 . Two years later, Anna was recognized as the founder of Mother's Day by the General Methodist Conference.

President Woodrow Wilson declared an official national Mother's Day in 1914, approving the Congressional resolution to celebrate the day every year on the second Sunday in May.

So, Joel, a segue from the fuzzy-wuzzy of three FULL days of Achenblog Mother's Day posts to Iraq 24/7 on Monday seems logical to me!

Nice kit, Joel. Good news, dr,congratulations. My wife recieved her MD gift inadvertantly yesterday evening,when our 14 yr. old thanked her for nagging about a major math project. she was absent when the assignment was given and didn't get a due date as she our other chldren were at the coast with Grandma and Grandpa. We were on her like white on rice to get the thing done by yesterday. After much hyperventilating she completed the task Wed. night, and it was collected the next day. If I had a nickel for every time that"...hmmm, they were right..." popped into my head , I would no longer be a servant of the State.

What a lovely letter, Joel. Thank you for sharing. My mother certainly loved my father, but I believe aging and widowhood freed her to live as she wanted in similar ways.

I've really already got my Mother's Day present. Somewhere between 1989 and 1991, my mom lost a diamond heart pendant my dad had given her, while working in the back garden. After we moved back to the house and I began my struggle with the garden, for years I kept an eye out for it. I finally figured it was buried for good or the crows had it. A few weeks ago Ivansdad was in the front yard with the dogs and saw a heart-shaped trinket. He turned it over and, there it was, dirty but intact. Talk about an unexpected gift!

Mudge, too bad about those ten friends. Good thing you have the Boodle to share with. Now if only I can remember to use that "favorites" button daily . . . .

But "fuzzy wuzzy" is so much fun to say.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone who is a mother, has a mother, or who knows a mother.

I think that pretty much covers it.

I need to go "encourage" my offspring to figure out what we're doing for their mother.

It's called "facilitating."

I would say more but my eyes are tearing up. Your mom's poem is beautiful.

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has an impressive map (pdf format) of the big wildfires, presumably the largest since 1954-1955. No wonder the Tampa Bay area was covered with smoke yesterday.

Okeefenokee and Pinhook Swamp to the south are prone to burn occasionally, when dry.

http://www.fws.gov/okefenokee/

Perhaps it's apropos to quote Post movie critic Desson Williams (reviewing "28 Weeks Later") as he invokes Okefenokee's most famous inhabitant:

To twist the undying words of "Pogo": We have met the frothing zombified enemy, and he is us.

My favorite Rough Draft is appropriate for today:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/20/AR2005042002183.html

JA, what a beautiful kit, and the poem is lovely. Happy Mother's Day, Joel's mother, and all the moms out there.

TBG, dmd, a lot of huggggggggggggggggs.

Kbert, love the ten things.

I've laid around all day, just read a book. Have to attend missionary meeting now, so I am off.

And happy belated birthday, ParisA.

I'm here to tell you that Joel's mom is an absolute angel, and she's sharp as a tack and good looking too.

I am most unimpressed with almost all the blogs, but found a very good one I think everyone here would like.
http://www.robmacdougall.org/

Hot diggity dog! Thought I would have to work tomorrow. Instead, spending the day on the water in a houseboat drinking wine with my mother and the whole crew. Dolce vita.

Happy Mothers' day to all the Achenblog moms!

I got my first Mother's day wishes today... "because you're a mother to Wilbrodog."

Um, I did just clean up his barf the other day (memo to myself: they don't kid when they call it the BARF diet), but I know that a dog does NOT compare remotely to a human child.

For which fact I am grateful, although during his puppyhood and training...

I did feel slightly like I was 24/7 with a three-year old. "Lookit! Lookit! Lookit! Me eat! Me jump on stuff when you don't want me to! Me go chase ball and other dogs! Me whine because I wanna, I wanna!"

Thank the Lord human children develop SOME sense sooner or later... and develop even more complex, elaborate and unforeseen ways to wreck your sanity. If only if they'd pick up after themselves while they were doing it...

Great letter and poem, thanks for sharing Joel. I will consider myself a success in life if I grow up to have the self confidence your mom has. What an inspirational woman.

KB, my mom did exactly the opposite as your mom did with the 10 Ways you list. But, she is still a great mom and I owe her so much for raising me. I think she did a pretty good job if I may say so myself. ;o)

Pretty neat, Joel: your mom and your oldest daughter both make an appearance on the same day; how cool is that? Can we hope for a trifecta and get Mrs. A to stop by for a spousal howdy?

I had decided not to write about my mom, but changed my mind. My mother died about 12 years ago, of liver cancer. She was 75, smoked two or more packs of cigarettes a day for something like 60 years, liked a daquiri before dinner, ate M&Ms or ice cream most every evening, had cholesterol and triglyceride numbers well into four or five digits (and didn't care). The two best things about her were she loved to read, mainly mysteries and thrillers, and her sense of humor: there was no pun, no shaggy dog story so bad, so labored, that she didn't laugh. In fact, the worse the better. (You didn't think I got this way just by accident, did you? Jeez.)

When she was 17, in the 1930s, she got polio, and spent a year or more pretty much living in an iron lung, which was the "treatment" for polio back then. When she "recovered," she had a slightly withered and totally paralyzed right arm. She taught herself to write left-handed, and to do everything else left-handed and/or one-armed, as well. She had been dating my father at the time--they were in the same high school class--and somewhat miraculously he stayed with her the whole time she was sick, and they eventually married, right before WWII (and he went into the Navy after Pearl Harbor). I was born 9 months and 20 minutes after WWII ended (I was a twin; the other died at birth), and 16 months later my brother was born. I got the "good hair" gene, the shaggy dog/pun/humor gene, the "tin ear" gene, and the Robert Redford look-alike gene; my brother is bald, dour, humorless, a Republican, and musically very talented (only if ya like classical music). So genetically, I pretty much got the better end of the stick.

The thing is, despite her paralyzed arm, not for one single second did my mother ever consider herself to be "handicapped." She was a complete wife and mother, cooked, kept house, hung out the laundry, drove a car, the whole 9 yards and then a couple feet more. Assistant Cub Scout den mother; PTA president one year, ran the PTA "white elephant" fundraising program. Not only that, in my own mind I never ever considered her to be anything less than 100% functional. Once in a while, a classmate might ask, "What's wrong with your mom's arm?" And I'd say something like, "Wrong? Nothing's wrong. Whaddaya mean? Oh. That. Oh yeah, she had polio." It never entered my head--because it never entered hers--that there was anything wrong, or remarkable. She drove cars and always had one of those "idiot knobs" on the steering wheel to help her turn it. When I was in fourth grade (and my brother in 3rd) she went out and got a job as a clerk in the local Goodwill Industries store; this was "back in the day" in the 1950s when working mothers were still something or a rarity. In less than a year, she was the store manager. About two years after that she transferred to the regional headquarters store as the store manager there. People in the HQ regional store tended to get "first pick" at the choice stuff, and since we lived in a nice suburb of Philly, there was some pretty good stuff came through that store. Our clothes and furniture were just as nice as anybody's else's in the neighborhood; it's just that half of it came from Goodwill. (And back then kids had no particular obsession with brand names or "style," or any of the crap modern kids are hung up on. Ya wore what ya had. Period. The "hot" brand name was Sears, fer cryin' out loud.) One time the clothing manufacturer Botany 500 had a half a truckload of suits it donated to Goodwill; I don't know if they were seasonal leftovers or factory seconds or what, but Botany 500 got the tax write-off and the Willow Grove region got racks of new suits. My mom made my father, brother and me all come in to get a suit, which we did for something like $3 each. (A few years later, I bought my very first full retail "off the rack" suit for my high school graduation: $19.95 at [who else?] Robert Hall. First suit I ever owned that didn't come from Goodwill.) About the same time, somebody donated a used Plymouth Fury, about six years old from the mid 1950s, I guess; it had massive, massive fins on it. My mother bought it for about $300 (and junked her old puke green Studebaker, the one with the bullet nose). You could haul about 12 Cub Scouts in that battleship, and that was just the back seat.

Fast-forward one lifetime. In the early 1990s, my wife and I had the three kids still at home, and since we both worked they spent more time than we'd like in after-school daycare, and then there were the summers. We hit upon the idea of inviting both my mother and my wife's mother, both then widowed, to come spend the summers with us, my MIL coming from Kingman, Arizona, and my mom from St. Pete Beach, Florida. And we'd pay them a modest amount instead of the day care center to watch the kids until we got home. As it happened, the two grandmothers got along famously with each other. Even better, my MIL liked to do laundry, and my mother liked to cook. So my wife and I would come home from work in the evenings to a house full of clean, sweet smelling folded laundry and a great smelling kitchen with a hot dinner just about on the table. I mean, really, it was just bliss. Just bliss.

Sometimes they'd all pile in the car we loaned my mother, and they'd all go to the park to walk around the lake and feed the ducks, or go shopping at Safeway, or go to the neighborhood pool, etc. (The kids actually weren't all that happy, being on such short leashes, and hanging around all day with a couple of old ladies. My wife and I couldn't have been happier. My mother taught daughter No. 2 to cross-stitch, my MIL taught No. 2 and 3 to knit. My son, surrounded by twice the number of annoying females than usual, watched Sesame Street and longed for escape.)

After several consecutive summers of this, my MIL accidentally banged her head on her garage door in Kingman, and rapidly came down with Alzheimers. She visited the following summer, but was already showing signs of disorientation, which frankly scared the kids. When she went back to Kingman in the fall she soon went into a nursing home, and died within a year. My mother came up the next summer and stayed, but missed my MIL's company. Over that winter she got sick in Florida, but didn't tell me much about it, and she typically brushed it off. When she came up the next June, she was just beginning to get jaundice. After a few days we made her go to a local doctor, who said she had liver cancer, metastasized. My mother had already known it for quite some time, I am convinced, and had made her peace with it. She said there was nothing anyone could do about it, anyway. A week later I was umpiring a baseball game at our local park when my wife drove up to the park and came to the backstop to tell me my mother had been rushed to the hospital. I left the game immediately and went to the hospital to see her. Everyone knew this was it. She told me I had been a good son. I told her she had been a good mom. Some time that night she slipped into a coma, and they put her on a morphine drip. We kept vigil for four days, always having somebody in the room to read to her (she had been in the middle of an Inspector Frost mystery, which we finished reading to her). She never woke up. My brother (I believe I've mentioned he's a jerk) didn't want to come to Maryland since he was "very busy," but my wife got on the phone and read him the riot act, and he and his wife finally came down from New Jersey. When he got there, he wouldn't go in the room. I had been there for several hours, and my SIL spelled me so I could go home, eat, shower, change and come back. I had no sooner gotten home when my brother called to tell me she was gone. Even then, he never did go into her room. Jerk. I did, to kiss her goodbye.

So those of you with mothers, give them a hug for me this weekend. And if possible, remember to tell them a really awful joke, preferably one with an excruciatingly bad pun.

Running for the bus. Everybody have a good one.

Very, very lovely, JA. Your mom sounds like a wonderful woman.

On the 22nd will be the 12th (*gasp*) anniversary of my mother's death. I really miss her -- mother's day isn't the same without her, most definitely.

My warm greetings to the Achenblogmoms and grandmoms -- even great-grandmoms (should there be any).

Ah, Mudge. She sounds like a really great mom.

Mudge what an incredible tribute to your mother and MIL.

Joel, you mom sounds like a really hot (blank). Plenty of gumption. You are lucky to have her, but you know that. Mudge, your story about your mom was wonderful. I wonder if you and "S" have the same brother, very similar characteristics.

I do miss my mom, not just on Mother's Day, obviously. Whenever I sew, I wish she were here to advise and consult. The first communion dress I recently finished for granddaughter #1 had a tricky spot and oh, how I longed to call mom to get her interpretation of the directions. The same thing happened when I made daughter #1's wedding veil, it would have been so much more fun to make it together. Mom was a little bitty thing who never had a bad word to say about anyone, she was way too nice, as my dad would often point out to her. After he died, she went on, being a wonderful grandmother to my girls, working part time, seeing her friends and being very independent. Thankfully she got to go on a few trips to Hawaii and Bermuda with her girlfriends before Alzheimer's took her self away. But she was a 'lady' to the end, the disease was never able to take that away from her. The most important thing I learned from her was to never allow myself to descend to someone else's level in an uncomfortable encounter. It has served me well through the years, even tho' at times I;ve nearly exploded from wanting to 'take the gloves off.' But in the end I knew she was right in saying that there was greater satisfaction in knowing that I wasn't the one who looked bad.

What great comments from all about moms. It's not an easy job but the rewards are wonderful. Just got an e-card from #1 telling me I was the best mom she could ever have. Well, she's right about that. :-)

Bad Sneakers, what a nice e-card. I won't ask you how you replied to that.

More on the Anna Jarvis Mother's Day story:

http://civilwarwomen.blogspot.com/2007/02/ann-maria-jarvis.html

Ann's daughter, Anna Jarvis, held a memorial to her mother on the anniversary of her death in May 1906. She praised the outstanding accomplishments her mother had made through the Mothers' Day Work Clubs she had established before the Civil War.

Miss Jarvis employed every means available to establish Mother's Day as a national holiday. She wrote hundreds of letters to legislators, executives, and businessmen. She was a fluent speaker and seized every opportunity to promote her project.

Her first real break came from merchant and philanthropist, John Wanamaker of Philadelphia. With his support, the movement gained momentum. On May 10 1908, the first Mother's Day ceremonies were held at the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton and in the Wanamaker Store Auditorium in Philadelphia.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution proclaiming Mother's Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the second Sunday in May.

During the 1920s, Anna soured on the holiday, because it became so commercialized. She and her sister Ellsinore spent their family inheritance campaigning against the holiday. Both died in poverty.

According to her "New York Times" obituary, Anna Jarvis became embittered because too many people sent their mothers a printed greeting card. She considered it "a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write."

Although if my mom were alive I'd have a restraining order, the personal recollections here have been very, very wonderful and inspiring. Thank you for sharing! I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day.

I wonder what the dogz are going to get me?

On the topic of Mother's Day, I have to say that my daughter has given me a great Mother's Day gift. She has made me proud to be her mom. Alohagirl is 8 years old, very petite and willowy. She plays baseball in a boys' little league here in our neighborhood. She plays second base and sometimes centerfield. Alohagirl can field better than all of the players on her team and most of the boys in her division. That girl has amazing hands when picking up the baseball and can make decisions on which play to make in a snap. She never misses. I sound like a bias mom, and I am, but we've also been told by many of the other teams' coaches that "She's really good!"

Here's why she makes me proud. Alohagirl tried out for the all-star team last Sunday and we knew that it was a long-shot that she would make the team (because of her size, she can't really hit the ball hard). The all-star coaches, who come from the first place team, were making no attempt to hide the fact that they were going to pick most of the kids from their own team. Basically, the rest of the division was vying for something like 5 spots. But, Alohagirl went to the tryouts and managed to dazzle everyone with her ability to catch a line drive, step on her bag and then make the double play at first. She did it with such ease that it took my breath away to watch her. The cheer that went up after she did that was huge. I don't think anyone thought this little girl (and I mean little, 49 1/2 inches tall and all of 48 lbs soaking wet) could make the double play against a batter and runner almost a foot taller than her.

I was proud, for sure, as was Alohaspouse. We found out today that she didn't make the all star team. The coach took most of his own players and a couple of boys from another team. Even though Alohagirl is likely a better defensive player than half of those kids. But what makes me proudest of Alohagirl is what she said to me when we told her the disappointing news, "Well, I tried my best to show them how good I am at baseball. If they didn't pick me I guess I have to learn more. I better try harder at practice next time." In my book, she's the All Star, hands down.

Okay, Mudge & Bad Sneakers, you have inspired me.

My mom was born after WWI. The family lived in town through the Roaring Twenties, then moved out to the farm (where I now live, now in the city limits) as the Great Depression hit. The farm kept the family -- six kids -- going through the Depression and Dust Bowl. She had her first and only jobs in WWII, then married and spent the next few decades as a housewife and, eventually, mother. When I was in college, I used to scold her about her complete acceptance of all household duties. She gently explained that she and Dad had chosen that division of labor and were content with it. She did admit that she would have liked to be an architect, but (even if they'd had the money for school) women were not encouraged to do such things when she was young. She had a wicked sense of humor and was often sarcastic but never mean. She did volunteer work as a matter of course and believed in standing up for what was right, even if it wasn't popular. It was only after I reached adulthood and got in the kitchen myself that I understood she really wasn't interested in cooking, but she sure liked company. She was gregarious and even after the onset of Alzheimer's had excellent social coping skills, which delayed her inevitable decline for a while. In the nursing home, she spent a lot of time visiting and "helping" the staff, until she perceived that someone had insulted one of her favorites. Then she'd slug them. Gently.

DbG dogz, I don't know what you plan, but sometimes continuing to be there for pets is the best gift.
Don't forget to wake DbG up especially early for a few kisses and make that petting happen pronto.

Oh Ivansmom, Alzheimer's is so awful but still at times produces some very funny moments. All the same, I fear it more than cancer or stroke or any other disease. I've told "S" and the girls to just take me for a walk in the woods and don't leave a trail of breadcrumbs.

Wow. Such wonderful stories of moms. Mine will be 70 this summer, and I must admit I don't much care for the idea. It bothers me nearly as much as my son turning 16.

Ivansmom - You're an Okie, right? My mom was born in Carmen, Oklahoma during the Great Depression. So if you ever meet anyone named either "Walker" or "Gately," be sure to tell them hello for me.

Happy mothers day to your mom -- and to all of ours.

Wilbrodog, agreed. We're also promising not to shed in the house for a week.

I know some of both, RD, and I'll be glad to greet them on behalf of my imaginary friend to whom they may be related. That'll be a nice fresh conversation starter.

My mom was close to 80 when she died. She'd been absent those last few years, but she was still pretty interesting at 70. I think she felt like she had a lot less to lose. I don't even think of 70 as old anymore. My father-in-law still shows his dogs at 75 (or something like that), running around the ring. He may be in better shape than I am.

Bad Sneakers, My mother-in-law cuts hair at a nursing home with many Alzheimer's residents. She tells me that those with the disease do not seem unhappy. And once you decide to just, you know, go with it, some of the fear goes away too. So if a 87 year old likes to think that she is getting ready for her Senior Prom, my MIL sees no need to argue.

Ivansmom - That's great! I guarantee they are relations. And indeed, my mom says turning 70 holds no fear. Of course, her parent both lived into their 10th decade, so I think she has a lot of life still left in her. She married her third husband last summer.

RD, your mom sounds pretty interesting. Three husbands. Even sequentially, that shows a real faith in human nature.

In my experience your mother-in-law is right. There is a period for some Alzheimer's patients where they are aware something is wrong. After that, for maybe a long time, their world can be very comfortable. It is the other family members who have to adjust and accept.

RD, it's not so much the disease I fear, as my mom was not unhappy in the nursing home, it's more the effect on the family. It's awful to visit your mother and know that she has no idea that you are her only child. Or to hear her tell the doctor that she never married and has no children. I just hope I don't put my kids and "S" through that. My dad died fast from a massive heart attack and that sounds good to me. Shocking and painful for the family but we got to remember him in perfect health until he died.

My mother was a Southern lady through and through. She died three years ago on Memorial Day (a fitting day to go home for a proud vet; she enlisted in the Women's Army Corp at 19 and let us know in no uncertain terms that all she wanted on her casket was an American flag). She was a gracious and proper person, treating everyone politely and respectfully, even when she thought they were complete idiots and jerks.

My elder daughter did a summer internship in Paris before her senior year in college. The chancellor's wife had all the interns in for a session on etiquette. I asked my child if she learned anything, and she shrugged. Her grandmother taught her well. To this day, I can say, your boyfriend can't sleep with you in my house, your grandmother would kill me, and she'll laugh and agree.

We had our differences, of course; she never worked after I was born and really didn't understand the issues working mothers face. But the evening before she died, as I was leaving, I told her I loved her, and her last words to me were, I love you too. She had been in the hospital for two weeks and held on till my younger daughter graduated from high school and got through senior Sunday at church. Then she was ready and died at dawn, in privacy. She had wanted a graveside service, but we knew that wouldn't work. Sure enough, the church was almost full. It was an intense but sweet time.

Hey, Bad Sneakers, me too! Of course, mine were 20 years apart. Massive heart attack vs. lingering, mind-stealing degeneration: no contest here.

Sorry for the off topic comment but I think I hear Jim Morrison intoning "This is the end . . ."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/11/AR2007051100993.html?hpid=topnews

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. 9/11 hero my ass.

Krauthammer has, apparently, lost his senses trying to defend him in his column today.

My mom married her high school sweetheart, gave birth to a baby boy, and then promptly became a widow from cancer. She then married my father, had three more children, endured years of emotional abuse, and finally escaped after 24 years. She then lived in blissful sin with a very nice man who looked suspiciously like her father until they changed the tax laws. So she married him.

That my sibs and I are reasonably sane is due solely to her.

"Living in blissful sin" -- faith in human nature and pragmatic as well. I will enjoy greeting potential relatives in your stead, RD. If I'm lucky one of them will respond and my life will be a little richer too.

I love hearing the mother stories. My mom died on the Winter Solstice in 1998, just hours after her last child arrived home. This straggler Navy SEAL brother heard from my dad that mom would make it and he should carry on. I pulled rank and called the Red Cross directly. These folks convinced him to catch a few fast planes home and he did.

As she was dying, she requested that we take turns reading aloud from

The Journals of Lewis and Clark
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose.

She taught us, by example and conversation:

1) Love for Nature and God's extravagant hand.
2) Acceptance yes, but courage and creativity in responding.
3) Care for others. She started a Hospice in 1978 almost single-handedly. Some of the nurses she trained cared for her at the end.
4) Whimsy. She could raise one eyebrow.
5) Books (no television until 70)
6) The beauty of paper birch trees.
7) Tell the truth. Period.
8) Sing show tunes while you work.
9) Ribbon is cheap, so wear two or three of your choice in your braids, and the old clothes won't matter so mucy.
10) Polish your shoes, keep them dry.

Ivansmom, mine were 23 years apart. Funny, whenever my dad would hear of an older friend who died in his sleep of a heart attack, dad would say, "that's how I want to go." He got his wish. He was only 67, I just wish he'd been able to stay a few more years as I was only 27 when he died.

The letter from Joel's Mom had me choking up at work - she sounds wonderful - and these recollections are doing the same. kb, your Mom seems a lot like mine. She was the best, only she didn't take enough time out for herself. She died much too young - I was 22 - and I miss her so much.

LindaLoo, thanks for posting the origins of Mother's Day. I like that it started as a day to work for peace. I think we may have discussed that last year in the Boodle, but I had forgotten till you mentioned it.

Aloha, your daughter sounds like she has the fighting spirit! Good for her - I hope she makes the All Star team someday.

Thanks, everyone, for the stories. Hug your moms, or see them in the flowers. Peace.

Wow, there some great stories of our moms here. RD, your mom sounds terrific. I like that term "living in blissful sin." I'm going to steal it to describe "S" and me. And I can sympathize with your mom's years of emotional abuse - been there.

I've enjoyed the stories tonight and look forward to more tomorrow. Vaya con queso.

>Polish your shoes, keep them dry.

Now that's some good advice!

All of your stories are "from the heart wonderful".

I will go to the beach to see my Mother this week-end. She still lives independently, just bought herself a new car, :-). She will be 90 years old in December. Her sister, who lives in assisted living, is 96. Mama's not ready for that, yet, she loves her freedom.

She loves to bake, makes cookies and fudge to take to Sunday School every week for the old widowers and other widows.

I call it her Cookie Ministry.

My mother's ashes will be buried in the family cemetery on the third Saturday of July. Not this July, but some July. We'll serve baby peas and new potatoes, fresh walleye fried by a cousin and rhubarb pie for dessert. (Absolutely no tartar sauce allowed.) Taps will be played for the veteran who left home the day after high school graduation to become a WAC. After Amazing Grace we'll fire up a Roger Miller CD with England Swings, King of the Road and Trailers for Sale or Rent, songs she sang to us while we were still too young to know she was singing impaired. We'll share stories. The year Frostdaddy spent his second tour in Vietnam and she didn't even take the frozen sweet potatoes out of the box they were baked in to serve them for Thanksgiving. The summer trips with bushels of books and no TV allowed (remembered fondly now). The numerous trips to NYC she led for we 3 sisters as birthday presents-when the real gift was time spent together away from work and kids. Ma Frostbitten was a self proclaimed follower of the "benign neglect" school of child rearing, but she really shines as a parent of adults. Her skill as a grandparent is phenomenal, though she attributes that to being united with the kids against a common enemy.

None of this is as far in the future as it used to be, as she wears a pacemaker and is frailer than we'd like at 66. But I hope that July Saturday when all the cousins gather is still far enough away that I will be old myself before I get the call that I need to plant some peas.

Completely unrelated to Mother's Day - but really, I have to say bill everything's 2:53 was really almost poetic - *putrid, rotten carcass of an albatross, etc...*

So many lovely tributes - I've enjoyed reading them all.

Aloha girl sounds like a champ.

RD - God bless your mother in law. My grandmother died after many years suffering from Alzheimers. I could never understand why some of her caretakers, including her children, would try to set her straight about every little thing. Upsetting to watch.

Good night all. Have a wonderful weekend.
Heading up to Maryland for some family affairs, hoping for some sun, which has been in short supply here in southern VA.

> King of the Road

Trailer for sale or rent
Rooms to let...fifty cents.
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes

Ah, but..two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means
King of the road.

Ah, love it love it love it.

Like many other lurkers or boodlers, I got no stories in particular about my parents.

They're nice folk who somehow made the love at first sight thing work for over 40 years. They're basically what you'd expect from gnomes...they don't live the high and fast life, nor leave their lives open to public scrutiny.

Instead I offer a few quotes from the very gnomic writer G.K. Chesterton:

"The whole pleasure of marriage is that it is a perpetual crisis."

And, back to motherhood:

"A good man's work is effected by doing what he does, a woman's by being what she is."

"Love means loving the unlovable - or it is no virtue at all."

Incidentally, saw the sad story of a Vancouver woman being mauled by tigers. I don't like tigers, as Mudge knows.

As my math skills have improved dramatically ever since I was made to count how many hairs I shed in the house...

Here's the facts. At last estimate, there are 10,000 privately owned captive tigers in North America. There have been at least 3 fatal maulings by tigers in the last 6 years.

That's statistically one fatal or near-fatal attack per 20,000 tigers a year.

Many exotic owners compare them to owning big dogs, and big dogs get called "as dangerous as wild animals to own". Hey!

The people who claim this don't actually keep full-size tigers in the house and busy washing their feet with their tongues.

I haven't smelled how many dogs actually live in America, but 79.6 MILLION households in America owned at least one dog in 2006. 26 fatal attacks by dogs occured at that same time. Gosh... that's just horrible. But back to math.

Taking that as the rock bottom number, that's less than 4 fatal attacks per TEN MILLION. Not ten thousand. And the real statistics would be much lower.

If HUMANS had such a low murder rate for other humans, (New York City has 10 million people as a comparsion)...

Homicide departments would be the stuff of fanasties. "Oh, only 4 murders last year in New York city? great!" (actually it'd be even less, but you get my point).

Police officers would have a lot of time off for butt-sniffing and be happier at heart, too.

Even the tiger attack rate is not too shabby for such dangerous tabbies-- that'd translate to 50 murders a year for a city of one million.

Of course, those tigers are almost always caged or otherwise confined, not walking around loose in public to greet people at will. Not that they should, or their maul rate would spike up really fast, I'm sure.

All of this boils down to one point: whenever people label a dog breed as dangerous... just remember what the pot said to the kettle.

Homo sapiens. When will they ever finally learn from Canis familiaris?

My mom just turned 84 and like your mom Joel, I don't think she has ever written an email in her life or wants to. She often sends me written notes too. She has lovely handwriting and I cherish everything she sends me.

I also send her notes and post cards and such. It is so nice to recieve something in the mail other then junk and bills.

Last year when I had my family up for our summer time party, I was able to convince her to take the kayak out for a spin. She was nervous at first but really got into it.

I just recently found that photo and now my mother in a kayak is my wallpaper on my pc. I think she will get a kick out of that.

Thanks for sharing your story Joel. I am always glad to share any story about my mom.

God bless you mom and all moms out there.

An early (on both clock and calendar) wish of peace to all on Mother's Day. That's why the day was initiated, and also a good use of the day, today.

Joel, belated happy birthday wishes from the Dolphin girl in my household to P.

Mudge, let me be the last person to suggest that you should write for a living.
(until the next person)

Thanks for the nice comments Mostlylurking and Kim. I appreciate them. Tonight, Alohagirl's team won their 3rd game and it's like they won the world series. They'll finish the season at 2nd from the bottom but they're celebrating like they came in first. I love their spirit and their sportsmanship. And, I love that my daughter is part of this team.

It's so great being a parent.

That was lovely, Joel.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

I went to college in Missouri. Beginning of my sophomore year, I received a letter from my brother. Being the ever sensitive guy, his first line was "Mother passed away 3 weeks ago." I was liked "You are only telling me now?!!!" Always a concern and loving mother, she had told my brother and sisters not to tell me because I was having exams at that time. She also felt that there was not much point in my rushing home since by the time I got home the funeral would have been over. My mum had died of throat cancer. My dad had died a year early and so I was an adult orphan. It was a feeling not easy to adjust. I walked around in a daze for a several months. That was 20 years ago.

Ah, Mom...

Raised six kids (all successful adults now) in a 6-bedroom, 2-bath house. Made sure we had plenty to eat and read growing up, and she still keeps us well-fed and well-read when we visit now. Taught us to love the Red Sox no matter how many times they broke our hearts, and to keep the Celtics, Pats and Bruins in a close tie for second. Mom also encouraged our artistic sides, particularly the musical and theatrical, and somehow put up with the endless Monty Python routines. She showed us women could work when they wanted to, and she still does, keeping an antique business going.

Love you, Mom. Thank you. Happy Mother's Day.

:-)

Morning all! *waving*

And in the "Blazingly Unsurprising News" department:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/05/11/williams.ap/index.html

:-)

Good morning, friends. All the mom stories are so good. I miss my mother something awful. She was so sick before she died, and had suffered so long. But that is not what I remember most about her. My memory of my mother is that she was a tough cookie. Blind and a pistol carrying woman that just did not take a whole lot of crap. Single mom with three daughters, and all three finished high school and entered the college doors, with one finishing. During that time frame, African-Americans barely finished high school and college did not exist. My mother was ahead of her time. I miss talking to her, and laughing with her. And telling her how things looked, describing stuff for her.

And I miss my son. He gave me a pair of diamond earrings for Mother's Day one year, and hopefully I will wear them tomorrow.

This has been a tough week. Got a call last night that my uncle passed away. He had been sick for many years. Slyness he lived in your neck of the woods.

Morning, Mudge, Scotty, Slyness, and all.*waving* Where are you, Martooni?

I hope all of you enjoy your weekend, and that the weather is good for outdoors. It was so hot here yesterday.

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ. Peace.

Mornin' all...

I'm glad so many of you still have your moms around and the stories you're sharing are wonderful. Unfortunately, it will be 13 years on the 19th since my mom passed away at the ripe old age of 48. The last time I saw her was on Mother's Day. We chatted for hours over coffee and tiramisu about everything and nothing -- in other words, a perfect afternoon. Even if we had known it would be our last moment together we couldn't have made it any more special.

On that note, I'm not looking forward to the next week. This is a major danger zone for me sobriety-wise between Mother's Day and the anniversary of her death. I try to turn it around and celebrate her life -- especially for Bean -- but it ain't easy when you're constantly being bombarded with advertisements to "remember Mom". Like I need reminded.

Let's just say I'm planning on at least three AA meetings a day and have my sponsor's cell phone on speed dial (as well as several other AAers').

Oh... I was digging through my poetry closet and found this one from a couple of years ago, inspired by an old photo I found of my Mom when she was a little girl playing in my grandparents' yard:

"two little girls"

i keep finding bits of you
buried in unlabeled boxes
drug up from the cellar,
my search for the old teapot
interrupted by your curls
spilling across the new carpet
in two-dimensional glory,
as if we've been playing
hide-and-seek these ten years
and you've finally heeded
the "ollie-ollie-in-come-free"
to proclaim "you're it".

i see my daughter in you,
her eyes staring back at me
as you roll on the lawn
and pose for the camera,
your smile and hers
relating the same mischief,
the same inside joke
i'll never understand.

i wonder what parts
of me she'll find
when it's her turn
to clean the cellar.

30 November, 2004

--

Peace out, my friends (especially all you moms)...

Best of luck Martooni.

My condolences, Cassandra.

Hang in there, Martooni.

Thanks, rain. And martooni, that poem is just the best. we so love you, martooni, remember that when your thoughts want to take you elsewhere, and that our thoughts of you and for you are all good. and I'm still praying.

Good morning, everyone.

Joel, your mom sounds like a great lady, as do the other moms we've Boodled about over the past couple of days.

Mother's Day is a good time to appreciate our mothers, tell them we love them, whether we're with them or not.

I think they know it anyway, but I think they love to hear it wherever and whenever they are.

bc

Cassandra, my condolences. *HUGS*

martooni, my fingers and toes are crossed and good thoughts are headed your way. You know you can find folks here most any hour, too. *manly hugs*

:-)

Martooni does it again. A+

Martooni, think how proud your mother would be of your success thus far, and let that help you keep it up.

I guess the good news is that there are still people like your Mom around. Decency? The capacity to know what is enough? Not sure. Something good, though.

I guess the bad news is that people like this tend to be 70 or up. But, maybe we travel around the circle, and another generation will be like that, down the line.

Is there any simpler religion than to believe that we are of nature, of the goodness, and we simply blend into it when we die? Maybe that isn't what she is saying. It's quite beautiful though.

Nice of you to post that.

Howdy. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and I'm about to take a shovel and find our old drain at the bottom of the yard. Good times.

The stories of moms here and gone are so nice. [Also cool daughters, Aloha!] In one way or another, many of them were pretty tough. That's my ambition - to survive to be a tough old lady. Graciously, of course.

Frostbitten reminded me that my mother, too, sang Roger Miller to me and she also was singing impaired. Couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. I laughed when she sang lullabies. Fortunately Roger Miller songs lend themselves to that.

Martooni, that was a lovely poem. As Slyness says, concentrate on how pleased your mom would be, and how much you've just given to Ms. Martooni & the Bean, and that celebratory turn-around will be fine.

Gosh rainforest. That must have been very hard. I walked around in a daze for a while in college when my dad died, but at least I knew about it when it happened.

I had to cease my boodling activities yesterday. All the lovely tributes to Moms and talk of Altzeimers were making me sad and feeling a little lost.

Tomorrow the Mom Lamp is lit. Love 'em if you got 'em.
I'm going to be epecially nice to my sister.

Just a quick drive-by boodling.

Happy Mothers Day to all you lovely ladies out there. We all thank you for the time and effort you put towards us.

Especially Happy Mothers Day to dr. My mommy, although she treats me like a mushroom sometimes, deserves all the praise I can give. Love ya.

Beautiful kit, to everybody, and thanks Joel for starting it.

Hang in there Martooni. I'll be thinking of you, and I'll ask my dad, a ten year recovering alcoholic who died last February, to keep an eye on you in the next few days. (I talk to him all the time like that, I suppose a lot of us do when we lose someone dear.)

Speaking of someone dear, mothers and email, my mother worked for years for a large corporation as a secretary, but due to her very strong principles would never use her email account for anything but work. She retired in 98, but went back to work a couple of years ago for a doctors' office. Still wouldn't use the email for personal correspondence. My parents had email at home, but as my dad was pretty much an invalid for the last few years, he was the 'filter' through which all communications, email and telephone, had to pass. And, as an AA person constantly in contact with his sponsor and sponsorees, he was on the phone constantly. If I called my mother he would monopolize the conversation, at last leave us alone to have 'girl talk', but pick up the extension every five minutes or so to ask impishly, 'what are you guys talking about?' It drove my mother absolutely wild! (Not to mention me.)

So, after a few months at the doctors' office, mom finally said, 'Everybody else is emailing their friends, so why can't I?' and she called me to coach her through it. It was as if after 37 years we had finally connected on the girls-only-club tin-can telephone! Playful aspects of my mother's personality came through the email that I never knew she had. Including, as Mudge related, the worst shaggy dog stories and abysmal puns. Like this boodle, sometimes technology can create the most delightful human discoveries you never expected.

Happy Mother's Day, to all.

I've loved reading all the stories about your moms. Quite a collection of wonderful women.

The most important lessons my mom has taught me came quite recently. In the span of two years she recovered from a broken ankle (from falling while gardening), a broken jaw (from a line drive at a baseball game), and a broken knee (from a car accident). At 81 years old. Never once did she complain about the pain or not being able to do the things she loved. In the midst of broken jaw recovery, she took a trip to the Grand Canyon. Also in the midst of this, she celebrated her 40th year of working at the same place, a nursing home. I only hope I can be as active and uncomplaining if I'm blessed to live as long as she.

Another Kleenex day here on the boodle. Love it.

Cassandra, sorry to hear your sad news. You know we're thinking of you. Martooni, you're doing great. Keep it up. Beautiful poem. Hope the awareness that this is a tough time for you will help you get through it. We're pulling for you - and as you see, this is a tough time for lots of us too.

rain forest, what a shock to lose your mom far from home.

I got up early this morning so my husband and I could go to the big sunrise sale at the local hardware/garden store. Lots of people with the same idea! We got a bunch of hanging baskets, fuschias mostly. Sunny day - I need to get busy planting and weeding. Good day.

Oooh, and found out yesterday that Jethro Tull is going to be here in September. Woo hoo! Also, Great Big Sea is playing at the zoo amphitheater this summer. Lots of good concerts coming up - trying to decide which ones to go to.

Listening to Donovan now -
Wear your love like heaven...

Martooni,
That is a wonderful poem!

Hey, the boss is on the front page of tomorrow's Outlook section. Pretty cool!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/11/AR2007051102061.html

Hang in there, Martooni. Cassandra, sorry to hear about your loss. You know you both have a lot of support here.

Hi everyone. What a wonderful letter from your mother, Joel. Thanks for the link to my blog, Jumper, and thanks to those of you who came by to take a peek.

Since you're discussing Mother's Day and its history, allow me to link directly to my post from last Mother's Day, which tells a bit more of the sad history of Anna Jarvis, the changing politics of Mothers Day, and how the apostrophe moved from Mothers' to Mother's:
http://www.robmacdougall.org/index.php/2006/05/the-war-against-mothers-day/

Triumph! After an hour and a half of hard digging and bush lopping, I FOUND the drain. We'd put this thing in the yard and under the driveway when we first moved in (that, and shoveling the 4 tons of gravel, was the hardest day of physical labor I think I've ever done). A couple of years ago it got covered by gravel. We didn't immediately clear it off and haven't had enough rain since to notice. Children, never procrastinate. Which brings us to last week, and the lake at the bottom of the yard. It was buried under about 3 inches of gravel, soil and "grass" (weeds to you) but I cleared it. Hah! I'm done for the day.

Loved the poem Martooni. You're in my thoughts, just stay positive and use those phone numbers without hesitation if you need them. Cassandra, I am so sorry. Bad things come in batches, you should be done now. CJ and Raysmom, great stories about your mothers. rain forest, how awful for you, and to be so far from home.

Nice day here, not too warm, good for yardwork. Of course I've been doing errands and housecleaning but "S" has been busy spreading mulch - still. The pile is getting smaller but we will have plenty leftover to patch spots after the new deck is put on and the sewer line is connected. That will be the official end of spending any large sums of money here, I hope.

Lovely poem, Martooni. I cried just reading it, and I'm a tough nut to crack. Let me know about that book of poetry you'll be preparing soon....

George Sears, there ARE mothers like that under age 70. My mom is one of them. It's just that we have to achieve a certain age to really learn about and appreciate our mothers first.

It'll be interesting to see how baby boomers get honored as parents when their time comes.

A mushroom???? Kerric, we both know that the finest mushrooms are kept in the dark.

And I could say that freely if he weren't towering over me right now.

Towering is something I do very well. I also excel at looming and hovering.

Towering is something I do very well. I also excel at looming and hovering.

Well, I guess Ivansdad & I are boomer parents. However, we're raising the Boy much as our parents raised us, and theirs raised them, with some leeway for cultural change and eccentricity. This is often to the Boy's extreme annoyance (no cellphone, no TV or computer in his room, etc.) but I like to think he'll thank us when he's older. Of course, parenting does make one delusional.

Help, my keyboard has been stolen by someone with a dark scruffy chin, who is looming over me. (He does this very well he is right, but if only he would do the dishes.)

Boko999, I understand about feeling a little sad and lost amidst the mother reminiscences. I started out a little sad too, after reading Mudge's wonderful piece. I decided the best way to deal with the sadness was to join in with the sharing (not often my first choice). One thing I like about the Boodle (warning: stunningly unoriginal observation ahead) is the ability to enjoy the experiences of others. Not everyone had or has a good relationship with their mother, but we can enjoy comments from those who do, or who've made their peace. My mom may not be living, but I can hear from folks whose moms are, and share in their joys and concerns. And then of course there's kerric & dr -- towering & looming and exchanging right in front of us.

Almost indecent, really.

Joking, I'm joking.

Wow. Wonderful stuff. This ranks up there with the Fathers Day boodle for the Kleenex® factor.

I've loved reading everyone's rememberances. I feel even a little closer to all of you.

Martooni... your poem is beautiful. I love looking at the rare pictures of my mom when she was a girl. It is amazing to see our children's faces in hers--a different grandchild at each age, it seems.

And stick with it, friend. We're here for you if you need us. We're very proud of you right now.

Cassandra... I'm sorry about your uncle. I hope you have a chance to see friends and family and remember good things.

Sometimes your kids will surprise you. I went into my son's room ready to go all Baldwin on him because I thought he hadn't done anything for Mother's Day. Then he showed me a beautiful Mother's Day animation he made with Power Point.

Gotta give him points for creativity.

RDP: //go all Baldwin on him//

Ha! Hadn't heard this before, but knew what it meant.

We have a tomato!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of the Celebrities I planted just two weeks ago had one tiny little bloom, and when I checked it this morning it was a little green marble about the size of a shooter (and just as hard). The first of the season and it's on its way!

They're so cute when they're that age. Be sure to take lots of videotape.

Paddy Chayefsky's "Marty" is just now startying on our local PBS station (26 on Comcast).

For some reason, I get the names Paddy Chayefsky and Mandy Patinkin mixed up. Weird, eh?

It's not too hard to tell them apart, mostly, if you just remember that Chayefsky was not Inigo Montoya. He was Marty and Howard Beale.

I have been enjoying reading all the comments about moms. I will be visiting my mom this coming week when I am in DC (!) for a conference and to spend time with my son and other local family members. My mom's earthly remains reside in Arlington cemetary--she died in 1995 and is buried in a beautiful plot along the tourist bus route. She awaits my father...and, unfortunately, my step-mother. Oh well. Happy Mother's Day!

Ivansmom, I hope your ambition to survive to be a gracious old lady come true. As for me, I don't know if I would be a gracious old lady but I sure hope I won't be a cranky old lady since it doesn't require a lot of effort to be cranky.

Wonderful editorial, Joel. Makes me proud of my English heritage. BTW, my dad met the Queen at the WWII Memorial ceremony last week and spent time reminiscing with the elder Bushes. Not sure how much he'll remember (age 88 with short-term memory loss), but as a WWII D-Day vet and former army General, an honor, nonetheless.

I read Joel's Viewpoint article, RC, but could find no mention of England or the English. You've made me curious - how exactly did this article inspire pride in your English heritage?

Again, I'm catching up on the Boodle late after you have all come and gone. Loved the mom stories. There's really not much better than a personal story told well.

Random Commenter - *oh well* pretty much sums it up....along with *whaddyagonnado*

Cracked me up AGAIN, RD, with your 9:46....

Did anyone see Steuver's take on the 'Go all Baldwin' phenomena in the Post magazine? Can't say I really agree with his take on the whole calling your daughter a "thoughtless little pig" thing. The good Lord knows I have had some screaming meemies at my kids but...."thoughtless little pig" seems a little more than a litte over the top. But that's just me.

Loved the Outlook article. Has the rationale for these new manned spaceflights ever been actually articulated? Dumb question that probably answers itself.

And I can't find the Viewpoint article at all. I'm hopeless, helpless.

RC, hope your dad remembers some of the conversations - quite an honor. Hope you have a good trip.

Wheezy, I'm always late to the party (since I am forbidden to post from work), but that's ok, it just keeps going. Except that I've forgotten my witty remarks by the time I get here.

happy mother's day to all the moms. loved reading everyone's memories and tributes. martooni, what a nice poem.

i don't have the wherewithal to do a tribute at this point in time, but let me just say that my mom is an awesome person. and i'm glad we've instituted a day that provides the opportunity to show our appreciation, no matter how the whole thing got started. same goes for father's day.

warm thoughts to everyone who's missing a mom. my landlady passed away in december (i live in a guest house behind a house). her son, who also lives in the house and is now my landlord, left town for the weekend because that was the best way for him to deal with it.

Happy Mothers' Day to all the moms out there. Great stories and wonderful poetry. It's such a pleasure to read the posts on this blog.

Happy Mother's Day, friends. Looking at the main page of WashPost, I can't help but think of the mothers of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those that have lost children, those that have children there, those that are getting ready to send children there. Some of those hearts have to be heavy this morning. My thoughts and prayers are very much with you. It is the ultimate sacrifice.

Getting ready to hit the showers. Sunday school and services calling. We will have a Mother's Day program honoring the wife of the minister and the mother of the church. I am suppose to participate, hope I don't mess up.

It has rained here, and doesn't look to sunny this morning. We so need the rain.

Have to check on my dad this morning. I will go by on the way to church.

Have a great day, folks. Enjoy your moms and if that's not possible, enjoy the good thoughts. Hopefully I will get a chance to talk later.

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ.

Up early (for me) to watch the Spanish Grand Prix, I'd jjust like to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there.

Here's Joel's Outlook piece, also prominently linked as the lead item in the Opinions box on the WaPo home page: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/11/AR2007051102061.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Not bad for a rookie.

Mornin' everyone, and a happy Mother's Day to all you Boodle moms...

Glad yinz liked the poem. I haven't written anything since I quit drinking (well, I've tried, but it was pure guano) and most of what I wrote back when I was is just a wee bit too disturbing to share in a polite forum like this -- think Charles Bukowski at a black tie cocktail party (not that I'm a Bukowski or that this is an uppity forum, but you get my drift).

Oh... and sorry I made you crack, Wilbrod. No offense, but if I could get Loomis to start leaking at the eyes I'd know I was *really* onto something.

Just finished reading Joel's piece in Outlook -- wasn't sure if we were allowed to put our feet up on the coffee table (that *was* a coffee table, right?) or let our hair down so I excused myself and hurried back here to the bunker. Speaking of hair... what I want to know, Joel, is how do you maintain the fly-away look with such a pointy head? Also, do the senior NASA stargazers initiate new hires (and journalists) with the old "India ink on the eyepiece" trick?

Well... I'm off. Got lots of work to do today and need to steel myself for the hour drive to the cemetery this afternoon. So far, so good.

Peace...

If you haven't seen the hardcopy of Joel's Outlook piece, you should. Top half of the front page of the Outlook section, side to side; big, bold, and beautiful. Pretty picture, too.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there, and a good morning to the rest of ya's.

EF, my cable's on the fritz, no Spanish GP for me, it seems. Ah, well, there's plenty of cooking to do on this sunny, but windy and cool day.

bill everything, we've had a lot of discussion in back Kits and Boodles about the value of manned spaceflight (including some that originated with Joel's features for WaPo magazine), you may want to do some searches...

I'm of the opinion that we need both manned and science programs, but we could do both of them better. And I think Mike Griffin is getting things on track, though I wish there were more money to spend on both sides.

bc

Hope you have a good visit Martooni.

Our family cemetery is the first stop when any of "the cousins" comes home to our small town. My grandmother was one of 14 so there are lots of cousins with mothers buried there. It is a celebratory place, where kids play tag and catch lightning bugs. Now that most everyone in the family is cremated we dig our loved one's graves ourselves with a clam shell style post hole digger. One cousin's husband, during his long illness, asked to be buried in a minnow bucket. After obliging him his grandchildren tamped down the earth. Someone quipped "hop on Pop" and a semi-tradition was born.

>EF, my cable's on the fritz, no Spanish GP for me, it seems.

Ouch, after a month's wait even worse. Lots of attrition. Kimi. Scott Speed, etc.

Morning and greetings.

Frosti -- darling story. Nothing quite so wonderful as a picnic at the graveyard. Hop on Pop, indeed. Yes, Mash down Mom, too. Very good. Memo to future grandchildren. Tamp me down good and eat rhubarb pie over me.

Martooni -- I'll make the 3000 mile trek to the grave in my mind. Take care and let it hurt full on. Beanie is there and so, too Mrs. Martooni. Trust me, this is a superlative mom's day for her.

As for my mom's site, she was buried buried very quickly on Christmas Eve day in a plot that we hastily bought since we could not find the "deed" to the one she paid for years ago. The cemetary peeps were on holiday shifts, so we all agreed to pay/bury/refund once we found the deed and they checked the records. Early in January the cemetary director/funeral home suit/Baskin Robbins owner (small town entrepenuer) called me to say this:
Hey, we found the paperwork. Apparently, your mom had (INSERT beloved, impoverish, proud Irish Fresh-off-the boat relative) buried in her plot. So, you will need to pay for this one your mom is in. On hell (really!) , how about half price on this one, since your mom gave her plot to Mr. and Mrs. O (charmin' name). And, I know that Mrs. O was not to know about this. Here is a handwritten note from your mom.

Wow. She did not tell my dad. Not that he would mind.

The other charming detail is my parent's best friends are (nearly) orthodox Jews. We were having a hard time finding coffin at such a time. They drove over in a borrowed Chevy Suburban with a coffin that they kept stored in their garage. This coffin is simple, with no nails or screws, according to their custom. I belive, also, that they are to buried within twenty-four hours. Talk about being prepared! So my mom was buried in this simple coffin, befitting an observant Jew. We told funeral suit guy, very Baptist, that the star of David in the lining should stay. Looked nice with her wedding rosary.

Until the replacement coffin arrived back to the friend's house, Mrs. S told Mr. S that he was 1) to drive slowly and 2) not take the freeway home. This family also poured some previous dirt from the Holy Land on her grave.

Previous!? I meant precious dirt. But I guess all dirt is previous, in a way.

Off to Mass: will pray for all who have mothers. Did I miss anyone? :)

Happy Mother's Day to all you boodling Moms.

You ladies are incredible, I hope you have a wonderful day.

Happy Mother's Day, as appropriate! After manhandling the Boy to church (how can he abandon it as a cynical college student if he wasn't involved as a child?) I plan to spend the day transporting the Boy to various locations, and grocery shopping. I plan to sneak in an excursion to BigBoxoPlants for some vegetables, and Finally plant something in the ground, instead of just yanking things out.

Y'all have a splendid day.

i really enjoyed the outlook article. good stuff. i'd been wondering about telescopes and star time. if eta carinae blows, does that mean it would affect us in x number of light years, or does it mean that we would be finding out about an event that happened x number of light years ago? i obviously don't really get it, so maybe the pointier types can help me out.

L.A. lurker : Distances to objects in space are usually expressed in "light years" - the number of years it takes the light to reach us. This means that a star 10 light years away looks to us as it did 10 years ago.

So what we are seeing is Eta Carinae, whose distance is 7500 light years, as it was about 5500 BC. For all we know it might have blown anytime in the past 7500 years. The light, and gamma rays, might already be on their way.

Also, I should stress that gamma rays and visibly light travel at precisely the same speed. So if they were both produced at the same instant, they will both arrive together. This means there won't be any warning. Now as Joel points out, the gamma rays are only emitted in certain limited directions, so for us to get hit by them would be very unlikely.

Still, it's all a good reason to give the mother of your choice a nice hug today.

My mom is wonderful (and, like Joel's, she turned 70 this year). Professional Yuppie Sister sent her cleverly-designed flowers. Anarchist Lesbian Sister sent her email hugs and a copy of a new atheist manifesto. I sent her a recording of the theme I composed for her book series. She loved all three gifts sincerely and equally.

I love to climb up on my roof and watch the sky, and I am fascinated by time-lapse satellite weather photos. One of the great things about my mom is that she understands me when I'm inspired write things like the excerpt below (which I sent over to her this morning). . . because she writes them, too.

[excerpt: "DragonWatching" by [name withheld], all rights reserved]

The wind is alive. You knew that, right? That the wind can speak, can play, can (if it wants) come when called, or go away when banished. The wind migrates, little zephers with whooshing breezes with long, strong jet streams, circling the world, changing, growing, shrinking. The wind is a living thing in the way trees and plants are living, and does what it must according to the season or its nature, neither good nor bad.

The wind, in its forests and meadows of breezes and gusts, hosts both old and new dragons. The ancient Chinese knew of this wonder, and accepted it with joy and reverence. In past days when the world was younger, and mankind did not cover the earth with machines and plastic, dragons would occasionally visit brightly colored and interesting cities, and be seen and spoken with. The younger ones would visit magicians and bargain for ribbons and wind chimes. The older ones would teach of honor and ethics, and deign to notice royalty. Any and all would flirt with the kites and the fireworks.

Young dragons, you ask? Well, yes, dragons mate with other dragons. Sometimes. It is a difficult, dangerous and unwieldy process. They mate over the ocean, circling, circling in their ecstasy until their tails lock and between them forms a quiet pool of calm. When mankind reached the sky, this process was named "hurricane" and "typhoon" and scientifically monitored, graded and photographed. We first named them with female names using the old sailor's idea of calling to the gentler nature of the storm. Then we alternated with male names. The dragons are completely indifferent to this. Mating only requires two dragons forming into one. They are not mammals. They are indifferent to gender.

The mating takes place over the sea. The gestation and birth takes place over land. Despite the legends of dragons' eggs and reptilian lairs, these are creatures of the air, and it is in the air that they bring forth their live young. When a dragon-combination is ready to give birth, they bulk up with water over a flat place of the earth, growing ever taller and wider until fire sparks deep within. They begin to circle, forming a wall of protective cloud. They are creatures of air and spirit, holding and forming a creature of air, fire and water, and before the baby can be formed, they must touch the earth, just once, lightly, and bring it up into the mix. Touching earth, even with a tentative funnel of air, is painful. You can hear them howl. The longer the funnel stays with the earth, and the more it brings up into the cloud, the stronger the offspring. When the birth is over, the relieved parents separate, shake off their wet mantle of cloud, and lead the children out to sea.

SCC: "zephyrs" (oops)

CP-Christmas Eve burial. How wonderful that you managed swiftly. In fall, as we wait for reliably cold weather or room in the deep freezer, 5 quart ice cream pails are collected. A couple inches of water are frozen in the bottom, then more water is poured around a soup can full of rocks. On Christmas Eve the ice is slipped from the pail, then the can from the ice, and a votive candle is placed inside. Those who live close enough meet at the family cemetery, lining the drive and marking the graves with sparkling light. I've often thought if powerful equipment were not required to dig a winter grave that I would schedule my funeral for Dec. 24.

Ivansmom-I laughed at your post about cynical college students. Though I've tried to banish it, I have this lingering feeling that my lack of faith is somehow superior to others being born out of a much richer religious tradition than simple indifference or lack of training. A perversion of the "faith isn't faith if it's not tested" idea, I suppose.

RD, do you think space dust and gases would slow the visible light a tad more than it would slow gammas? Meaning we would get fried by gammas about an hour before we saw the flash?

sevenswans, that's a wonderful story - thanks!

Cassandra, hope you have a nice day. I'm sure you'll do your part well. I was thinking about the mothers who have sons or daughters in Iraq, too - and the mothers who are there themselves. That situation needs to get resolved.

Hope everyone has a nice day.

"Fried by Gammas" would make a good Boodle handle. And I meant to point out the other day that "Fuzzy Wuzzy" is still available. (I may need to put dibs on that one myself.)

That's an interesting question, Jumper. Different frequencies of electromagnetic energy do get scattered slightly differently. (Hence that whole "blue sky" business.) But scattering doesn't slow the energy. What scattering would do is reduce the amount of energy that reaches us. The energy that is not scattered would still all arrive at the same time.

Do gamma rays come in "broiled" instead of fried? Because, you know, I'm trying to watch my diet.

Gamma rays are best when rinsed in pure spring water and then lightly enrobed in high quality creamy chocolate fondant.

No more mimosas for me.

There's a major headline on the WaPo home page that says "Pushing Cause of Motherhood." I never exactly thought of -- that act -- as "pushing," exactly, but I can't find too much seriously wrong with it. At least I'm glad they've finally figured out what causes pregnancies.

Joel writes in his Outlook article:

Our eyes and brain capture and analyze electromagnetic radiation in a portion of the spectrum that we self-referentially call "visible light." With telescopes, we have Superman vision.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Woman

The goddess Artemis has granted Diana the "Hunter's Eye" which gives Diana enhanced senses, as well as unity with the animal kingdom and the ability to tame wild beasts.

Shortly before Infinite Crisis, Wonder Woman was blinded; her sight was later restored by Athena. Since then, she has possessed the sight of Athena, or the gift of increased insight.

Heck, I'd like to hear more about the Mercury 13. I didn't know their collective stories until I heard the end of the national TV news on Friday night--it was either ABC or NBC, I believe the former. They were given honorary doctorates in science at University of Wisconsin this past week? See if I can find a News link...

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=a85b0709-27bf-45e9-ad7e-3525377faf06

And the woman who wrote the book about them teaches at Mt. Holyoke (my closest lifetime friend being the distant great-granddaughter of Elizur Holyoke).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20070510/cm_usatoday/thewomenofmercury13

Should every schoolchild know their names? Of course.

Geraldyn "Jerri" Sloan Truhill
Myrtle Cagle
Geraldyn "Jerrie" Cobb
Jan Dietrich
Marion Dietrich
Mary Wallace "Wally" Funk
Jane Briggs Hart
Jean Hixson
Gene Nora Jessen
Irene Leverton
Sarah Ratley
Bernice "B" Steadman
Rhea Allison Woltman

Thanks, mostlylurking! Unlike my sisters, I've always been uninterested in the marriage+kids thing, but my mom has *always* been supportive (it was radical at the time); and of my other sister's coming out (also radical at the time); and of the second sister's decisions as well. There are many things I admire about my mom, but the ability to roll with life's extreme weirdnesses (in the form of her children, usually) is what I admire most.

Although even after 50 years of marriage and three children, she still can't cook very well - but my dad, bless his heart, never, ever cared. She can, however, make pies and cookies and chili and stews (and, therefore, so can I). Anything "fussy" that required precise measurements and timing would inevitably fail, due in large part to her tendency to get bored, pick up a book, and get lost in it (and, well, so do I...).

NPR had a story on the Mercury 13 on Friday:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10125596

I've heard of them before - maybe it was around the time of Eileen Collins piloting the shuttle. I would like to find out more about them, and see them recognized.

I was going to leave a comment to Joel's Outlook article, but there was all this business of logging in and registering and stuff. That sounds too much like work.

Joel mentions IUE in his piece, the International Ultraviolet Explorer. Let me be the first to say: Happy Mother's Day, IUE! The IUE project is what brought me together with the ScienceSpouse, and thus IUE is responsible for my wonderful ScienceKids. Yep, young geeks in love.

A couple of quick comments regarding radiation and gamma ray bursts (GRBs) from stellar activity, whether it's exploding stars, black holes, etc. and the danger posed to Earth by them.

Typically, those intense bursts of radiation are along the axis of rotation of the stellar body emitting them, as the magnetic fields of large rotating body are weakest at the poles. Here on Earth we see the northern and southern lights because bursts of solar radiation can find their way to lower altitudes through those weak spots where they can interact with the upper atmosphere and become visible. Fortunately, the Earth's axis of rotation is reasonably close (about 70 degrees from the to the sun's axis of rotation (and the plane of the ecliptic, FWIW), so the brunt of bursts from solar flares and sunspots are deflected by the stronger sections of the Earth's magnetic field along the equator.

Ok, let me get back to my point; the weak spots in those stellar magnetic fields alont the axis of rotation act like a magnetic gunbarrels at both ends for hard radiation that the stellar body may be spewing out (as a side note, black holes emit signature X-ray "burps" along these axes as matter is being drawn into the event horizon). All of that radiation is channeled from across the stellar body out through a relatively small hole, in a fearfully condensed and energetic fashion. I think of it as a big particle beam ray gun.

So, it occurred to me that one way to assess the danger posed by nearby stars that fit a profile of going nova (super-, hyper-, bossa-, whatever), would be to determine those star's axis of rotation, and whether it intersects Sol's orbit around the center of the Milky Way.

While it would be logical to infer that the most stars in the Milky Way axes of rotation would line up more or less with the Milky Way's roataion (and the main galactic disc), that inference would be incorrect. The Sun (and the plane of the Solar ecliptic), for example, is flipped over 60 degrees to the main plane of the Milky May (the northern axis aligned more or less at the North Star), so it'd take some research and observation to figure out how many threats there may be from that.

Anyway, this is far to long for my liking, but there it i