The other woman - NCCG.ORG Ning Network Archive 2008-10

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me
to take another woman out to dinner and a movie.
She said, 'I love you, but I know this other woman
loves you and would Love to spend
some time with you.'

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my
Mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands
of my work and my three children had made it possible to
visit her only occasionally.

That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and
a movie. 'What's wrong, are you well,' she
asked? My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a
late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad
news.

'I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time
with you,' I responded 'just the two of us.' She
thought abo ut it for a moment, and then said, 'I would
like that very much.'

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I
was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed
that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She
waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair
and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her
last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as
radiant as an angel's.
'I told my friends that I was going to go out with my
son, and they were impressed,' she said, as she got into
the car. 'They can't wait to hear about our
meeting.'

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was
very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were
the First Lady.

After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could
only read large print. Half-way through the entrees, I
lifted my eyes and saw Mother sitting there staring at me. A
nostalgic s mile was on her lips.

'It was I who used to have to read the menu when you
were small,' she said. 'Then it's time that you
relax and let me return the favor,' I responded. During
the dinner , we had an agreeable conversation nothing
extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each
other's life. We talked so much that we missed the
movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said,
'I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me
invite you.' I agreed.

'How was your dinner date?' asked my wife when I
got home. 'Very nice, much more so than I could have
imagined,' I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack.
It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to
do anything for her. Sometime later, I received an envelope
with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place
Mother and I had dined. An attached note said: 'I paid
this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be
there; but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for
you and the other for your wife. You will never know what
that night meant for me. 'I love you, son'

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in
time: 'I love YOU' and to give our loved ones the
time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important
than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because
these things cannot be put off till some 'other'
time.

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to
normal after you've had a baby... somebody doesn't
know that once you're a mother, 'normal' is
history.

Somebody said you can't love the second child as much
as you love the first... somebody doesn't have
two or more children.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor
and delivery....somebody never watched her 'baby'
get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten... or on a
plane headed for military 'boot camp.'

Somebody said a Mother can stop worrying after her child
gets married... somebody doesn't know that marriage adds
a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last
child leaves home... somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you
don't need to tell her... somebody isn't a mother.

Pass this along to all the GREAT 'mothers' in your
life and to everyone who ever had a mother.

This isn't just about being a mother; it's about
appreciating the people in your lives while you have them...
no matter who that person is!

Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes...
your destiny.

'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet
is fighting some kind of battle'.
(Anon)

Reply by Avah on February 13, 2009 at 11:58pm

How beautiful and how true. It takes so little to lift someone's heart and those three words "I love you" can change a person's day and often times their entire life. Thanks for sharing that.

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