Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life .. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. ~ Proverbs 31: 10-12; 27-28

I guarantee that after watching the attached video and reading through the accompanying responses, you will be wishing that you were ‘then’ who you are ‘now’, armed with your knowledge of today’s perspective. The reason? So that you could have told your Mom right up front and personal, all that you appreciated about her, all that you admired about her, and more than anything else, all that you loved about her. And to do it much more than you ever expressed it when she was living.

You will wish that both of you could have better understood yourselves, so you wouldn’t have been such harsh critics of each other. Perhaps even, having been more expressive and accepting of each other’s differences and loving them, rather than being judgmental and uncomfortable with deep emotional dismissiveness.

You’ll wish you had been more accepting of her during her life, with a calmer, gentler and softer approach. Likely you’ll be grateful for all the love and respect you did express, while realizing that it’s not enough after they are gone.

You’ll come to the conclusion of how much you valued her companionship and her listening ear until the dreaded moment you had to deal with its missing hole in your life.

By the end of this piece if you still have your Mom with you, it might be a good idea for you to call her, hug her, value her for what good she has given and still can give. And pledge to yourself to be that same Mom or Dad for your children.

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From Jon Brown:
A wise person once told me that it only takes one person to forgive, but two to reconcile. I think people mix up forgiveness with reconciliation. Forgiveness is an imperative, as shown in ‘Our Father who art in heaven’… Also forgiveness is not a feeling, but a decision that we have to make over and over again.

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Winky:
Your post made me teary thinking of my mom. I took care of my mom the last several years of her life and she had a long life. My mom’s dementia was hard to watch those last few years of her 92 years. Now that she is gone I remember her goodness and kindness and the funny little person she was .. she had a cute little Italian accent and she was hilarious and oh so cute. She made everyone laugh because she had the cutest personality. I tried to tell her all those things and how grateful I was to have a mom like her. I always told her that but I hope she heard me at the end.

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From Stella:
What a blessing you were able to take care of her and give her love every day. So many simply don’t have the means to be at home as they have to work, or their loved ones’ medical needs are too great. My grandfather passed away in a nursing home after several years dealing with Alzheimers. None of his children were retired at the time and they all worked, and my grandmother wasn’t able bodied either. I wish I could have cared for him at home those last few years. He spent so much time alone.

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Jerrydon:
That is why we ALL need to nurture everyone around us. Including our spouses. There are a number of sayings about love and what it means but I am going to share something that I learned one morning at 3:00 A.M. I was taking care of my late wife for all of her needs, including the personals. And on this particular morning I was picking her up .. She said in the clearest and sweetest voice: “I love you”. I never heard her voice again and I am sitting here with tears because of WHAT she taught me as she was dying and what it means. So Love all you can, don’t be afraid to say it and mean it; it is a gift that you give to someone else.

Katherine McCoun:
Deep crying here. I miss my Mom every day. No one loves you like your momma and if you didn’t have that imperfect but wonderful love I am very sorry. My Mom was far from perfect but she gave me what she had, her best, and loved me deeply. I so wish I could pick up the phone and call her right now or sit beside her for a hug or just talk to her.

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Deb:
I understand what you are saying. I am a child of divorce, and while there was no serious abuse, it can affect your relationships. But I was fortunate to have a great grandmother who loved me the way this man’s mother loved him. Often when our bonds with our parents are broken, others will step up to fill the void. And we can always turn to our Heavenly Father, he is always waiting to heal the hurt and fill the emptiness with His love if we but ask Him to.

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Jim Marine:
I must say we all have some regrets in how we didn’t always respond in the right way to our parents. Mine are gone now so I can never make that part up to them. Maybe in the next life. Amen.

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Treehouse Ron:
The speaker is Marc Mero, a famous pro wrestler from the 80’s and 90’s. He was never the ‘top’ guy, he was always kind of a mid card wrestler, some of the other wrestlers even used to bully the guy. Back then almost every wrestler including Mero was constantly drunk or high or both.

Since he quit wrestling, he’s made a name for himself as truly one of the good guys in the wrestling world, and has left behind all the negative vices he had back in the day. Nobody has a bad word to say about him any longer, and as you can see he’s a very, very powerful speaker.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. ~ Proverbs 31: 26; 29-31

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H/T Conservative Tree House The Last Refuge

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Face of Jesus by Richard Hook

Soli Deo Gloria!