How the Lord Created the Mother

I was so touched by a Mother's Day post on Paulo Coelho's Blog which a friend and former high school classmate shared on Facebook today. I'm sharing this in its entirety in the hope of touching more lives.

The post is entitled "Character of the week: The Mother."

When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into his sixth day of “overtime” when an angel appeared and said: “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”

And the Lord said, “Have you read the specs on this order?

* She has to be completely washable, but not plastic;
* Have 180 movable parts… all replaceable;
* Run on black coffee and leftovers;
* Have a lap that disappears when she stands up;
* A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair;
* And six pairs of hands.”

The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands… no way.”

“It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” said the Lord. “It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.”

“That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel.

The Lord nodded.

“One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, ’What are you kids doing in there?’
“Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know.
“And of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say, ’I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.”

“Lord,” said the angel, touching His sleeve gently, “Go to bed. Tomorrow…”

“I can’t,” said the Lord, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself.

Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick
“…can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger
“… and can get a nine-year-old to stand under a shower.”

The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too soft,” she sighed.

“But she’s tough!” said the Lord excitedly. “You cannot imagine what this mother can do or endure.”

“Can she think?”

“Not only can she think, but she can reason and compromise,” said the Creator.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.

“There’s a leak,” she said. “I told You were trying to push too much into this model.”

“It’s not a leak,” said the Lord. “It’s a tear.”

“What’s it for?”

“It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride.”

And the Mother was created – a work of genius.

Happy Mother's Day to all amazing moms!

Mother and Child Ties

If there's one thing that I admire in Michael Jackson other than his music and remarkable achievements in his career, it's his close ties with his mother, Katherine. It's heart-warming to know that amid all the fame as well as the rough roads that he had to go through, his mom was his staunch supporter. No wonder why Michael entrusted his three children to his mother.

I have always admired people who are close to their mothers. I know how it feels to have a wonderful and supportive mom and I consider myself a very lucky daughter. I enjoy a great relationship with my mother whom I fondly call "Nanay." She's been there to support me and my siblings in everything we do even until now. Nanay was just a call away and I appreciated it so much that she was able to be with me when I gave birth to my two children with a seven-year gap. She and my Tatay were successful in raising all four of us to become the responsible and independent individuals that we are now.

Nanay is a young looking person especially when in her tip top shape. In fact, as me and my sister were growing up, the three of us were even mistaken as sisters. I took after my Nanay in many aspects including my looks, my being a hands-on mother and my dedication to keep my family together. And although we're miles apart today, I always make sure to call her at home as often as I can and update her with our latest activities.

We may have differences but our strong bond is more important than anything else today. A mother is the best person anybody can have and now that I'm a mom myself, I'd like to follow the footsteps of Nanay.