Did You Grow Up With The Meanest Mother Too? HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

The following is an excerpt submitted to the local paper a couple of years ago. I saved it and each time I read it, it still makes me smile! I hope you'll enjoy it too!! It was originally published in the Phoenix, AZ Gazette:

A woman recalled the painful years when she was growing up. She said, "As a child I had the meanest mother in the whole world. She was real mean. When other kids ate candy for breakfast, she made me eat cereal, eggs and toast. When others had Coke and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my dinner was different from other kids."

"My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. She insisted that if we said we'd be gone for an hour, that we would be gone one hour or less. She was real mean."

"I'm ashamed to admit it, but she actually had the nerve to break the child labor law. She made us work! We had to wash all the dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she lay awake nights thinking up mean things to do to us."

"She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers she was much wiser, and our life became even more unbearable."

"None of this tooting the horn of a car for us to come running out. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates and friends come to the door to get us. I forgot to mention, while my friends were dating at the age of 12 and 13, my old-fashioned mother refused to let me date until I was 15-16."

"My mother was a complete failure as a mother. None of us has ever been arrested or beaten a mate. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of his country. And whom do we have to blame for this terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother."

"Look at all the things we've missed. We never got to take part in a riot, burn draft cards and a million and one other things that our friends did. She made us grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults."

"Using this as a background, I am trying to raise my children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my children call me mean. You see, I THANK GOD He gave me the meanest mother in the world."

"From this, we would say the country doesn't need a 5 cent cigar; it needs more 'mean' mothers and fathers!"

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL MOMS OUT THERE! AND... THANKS MOM FOR BEING ONE OF THE "mean" ONES! I'm really thankful that you loved us enough to stand your ground! (even though I wasn't thankful back then!)