Mother’s Day is to be celebrated on Sunday, May 8th and so I decided to interview some of the stars of this appreciation day myself. What makes a mother? How do they feel towards their lifetime job? And in what ways can we as children, contribute to making their job easier?
I caught up with Deer Park’s very own Spanish teacher, Claudia Martinez. Her baby, Eva Lucia Martinez just turned one about two months ago. To describe her initial reaction to giving birth, Claudia says,” It was a very long night and I remember feeling very proud of myself the entire 12 hours of labor because even though I was in very much pain, I was able to focus and handle it like a champ without medication. I remember feeling extremely happy and blessed when I first saw her. I couldn’t believe how God had made her so perfect and healthy. I felt and I still feel very grateful for Him.” At this point in her life, Claudia can already tell her physical strength and comprehension towards both English and Spanish. She admits her favorite aspect that always fills her heart with joy is Eva’s smile. “I think her happy little personality comes from both of us,” Claudia said. Being a mother is a privilege and a joy. “Being a mother means that I need to be the best and only the best version of myself every single day so that my daughter can learn by example. And hope that one day she is proud of me for being the best mom,” she said. I then went to English Two teacher, Judy Perrone. A mother of three, (Patrick 38 , Angie 36, Becca 34) Judy knows the most joy she experiences is when she looks at her children and watches them live a good life. Each one of them are unique and have special talents. “Patrick tends to want to keep peace like me. Angie is creative like I am, but she is braver. She is willing to take the risk of doing something different with her life. Rebecca is a much better mother than I was, she is better informed of what needs to be done. She is also much more organized than I am,” Judy said. When first giving birth, she was afraid and didn’t really know to expect. Both her and her husband were nervous, but when she saw
Patrick for the first time, Judy said she,” felt a tremendous love for him immediately.” Mrs. Perrone also shared with me a story that she’d never forget that had me rolling in my chair. “When my children were very little, one summer I decided that we would make a slip-n-slide out of trash bags. I took the trash bags and lined them up in a line in the back yard. I turned the hose on so that the “slide” would get wet. As my kids were watching I demonstrated how to slide on the “slip-n-slide” by running and jumping face down on the slide so that I could slide down to the end. Unfortunately, instead of sliding, I plopped down hard and didn’t move at all. Patrick, my oldest looked at me and said, ‘Mommy, I don’t think I want to do that.’ ,” Perrone said. Although she spent a lot of the time working, Judy feels that she knew her children well and shared more of herself with her kids more than her parents shared with her. Some advice she could share with me for the next generation of mothers was to “wait until you know what you want and are truly ready,” Judy said. Continuing my journey in the investigation of Mother’s day was someone a little closer to my personal life. Catching up with a woman I’ve known for many years, I interviewed Kim Council, mother of two. As a girl, she never imagined that she would have children, yet here she is now at 51 with two daughters: Taylor Rhea (25) and Kendal Leanne (20). “I imagined that as long as I did good, everything would be good and nothing bad would happen! Reality is that we have good and bad in our lives. God uses both good and bad things to increase our faith and to look back and see how He works in our lives,” said Kim. Though both daughters are not exactly like her, there are some similarities and differences. “Kendal is more like me personality wise but not just like me! She is much more laid back than Taylor,” Kim said. Some advice she had to give to upcoming mothers would be Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” For the last stretch of my voyage of Mother’s day, it was time to visit my own mother, Shirley Feeback. A mother of three (Jonathan Mark 20, Emily 19, Abigail 15), Shirley confesses that giving birth is a feeling “that you will never experience or can explain completely until you have your own,” Shirley said. She also expresses how each of her children are different from each other. “Jonathan is the only boy. He is
just like me in personality. He is courageous and consistent and disciplined. Emily is just like her dad. She is a people person, she is a peacemaker, very smart and driven. Abigail is a mix of both parents. She is compassionate, empathetic, driven, and filled of courage. Each child loves Jesus,” She said. Though she hates to see them leave and live their lives, she feels humbled seeing them live out their lives successfully.
In my adventures through the characters and wonders known as “motherhood”, I’ve learned some interesting things. As a mother, you will do anything and everything to protect and encourage your children. It doesn’t matter if a child is blood related, that factor simply makes the bond so much stronger that she chooses to love her child no matter the skin color, blood type, or ethnicity. The little things a mother notices in each child is unique and what makes that connection even stronger, from scrunching faces to toe twitches. And in each stage of motherhood, there is always something different to experience, endure, or encourage. So, with all of the interviews out of the way and all of the work set down, enjoy your mother and thank her. She’s the only one you get and she chooses to love you, no matter what you’ve done, said, or not said. Besides, May 8th is just one day, she deserves them all.