If a forum were a place, one of them might be a Coffee Shop. The atmosphere is friendly discussion and no reference materials, just chatter. The conversation is very topical, and trends appear and disappear regularly. These forums are very transient in their storage of knowledge. There are minimal stickies in the major topic areas, no visible rating system for threads and no distinct “reference” features. The conversation is free flowing like a slow, lazy river for some topics and like a raging river rapids for ohers. There is little effort in “pinning” topics or creating easier storage and retrieval or reference mechanisms. So unless you visit the Coffee Shop regularly, you will miss great instances of knowledge. A really good thread with good links on topic will go by without a collective desire to store that knowledge. This is a Coffee Shop.

On another end of this analogy is the Library. Conversation that takes place in the Library is carried out at a lower tone amongst books and magazines. The Library places value on its reference and content areas, more freely given as a member rather than just a guest – and offering extra features for a small subscription fee. The Library is where you go when you need to look something up, or where you spend a lot of time because you always need to look something up!

One basic tenet of Motherhood is that Mothers will do whatever it takes, sacrificing anything and everything to ensure the safety and well-being of their children. It seems a unspoken oath that a Mother takes upon her own birth. This is not a trivial notion by any means, but I don’t feel that we give enough thought to what the positive outcome of such nurturing and unconditional love can be.

I haven’t been able to do much reading lately, but I managed to whip through John Grisham’s latest paperback The Last Juror on a recent business trip. I haven’t read any his books in several years, but I think this has to be one of his best. A central part of the story is a Mother, Mrs. Callia Ruffin. Seven of her eight children earned PhDs. “Miss Callie” herself was meticulously educated by an adopted Mother who lacked her own children. She passed on this devotion with simply more of the same. Miss Callie may be a fictional character, but it is not hard for me to imagine many similar stories that are entirely true.

The point of all this blathering is simply to say that if you, as a parent, can muster the strength and courage to apply merely a fraction of the discipline that Miss Callie used to raise her children to your own, The World Would Be A Much Better Place. I think this fact is hard to ignore. Surely, there are souls born that even Miss Callie’s love could not save, but the impact of massive Motherly love on the population at large would be enormous. Who couldn’t use words of love and encouragement during a difficult time? Anyone would welcome money for an ice cream cone or a home cooked dinner and some conversation. Can you imagine not being taught to read or how to go potty? Mothers provide these things selflessly and without hesitation. If you’ve got a face only a Mother could love, well, then you know exactly what I mean.

Teach your children to smile. Make sure they say “Please” and “Thank You”. Teach them respect for others and to treat people fairly. Teach your children to take a stand for what is right and to cry out against what is wrong. These basic things are not hard, but they do take some effort. And they must be learned, therefore they must be taught.

I miss my own Mother very much, but I am grateful to have had her for as long as I did. Once in a while, something will remind me, a song or a movie, and I’m overcome with a deep sadness and emptiness. I wish she could see my own children, and I wish they could know her and love her. I urge you, as a child, to think about what your Mother did for you, and to pass that on, not only to your children, but to anyone you can.