Mothers, They Rock! by Al Sikes

Mothers, They Rock!

One thing I do too much is write about politics and public affairs. The one thing I have also done too much is take for granted mothers and especially the mother of our children.

I have written that most often when star athletes are interviewed they thank their mothers. Too often the fathers are not around. Regardless of how the street intrudes on the athletic field the depth of a mother’s love is tenacious and enduring. We build statues to war heroes; we should be more celebratory of the mothers that protect the home front.

I was fortunate. Both my Mom and Dad were engaged parents—Dad, maybe more often than I would have preferred. But, I have a vivid and thankful memory of love and caring. Both the love and caring part sometimes resulted in corrective behavior. They got mad and let me have it.

I was not a dutiful student until late in my education. Mom, a teacher, both urged me on and gave me help. Her insistence finally broke through. Thank you Mom.

Dad, well, my rebelliousness gave him headaches for sure. His correctives were never hard to understand, although at times painful to endure.

But this is about Mother’s Day and, in particular, my appreciation for my wife’s intuitive and skillful navigation. She has a maritime navigation certificate but navigating life with three daughters is much more complicated and at times perilous. Sure a boat can be moored involuntarily until the tide comes back but what do you do to make sure the tides of life are lovingly cushioned?

What do you do and how do you say it if you think one of your daughters needs to course correct? Not easy, for sure, but so much easier if the daughter knows she is loved. And, from my standpoint that is the hinge— love and its many expressions.

I don’t know of a shorthand expression for Mother’s Day. If it’s February you buy a Valentine card or roses. If it’s December, you wrap a gift. Those are easy, since derivative. But when it comes to mothers let me simply say our world works best when expressed by a mother’s love and protected by her internal clock which is never off.

Looking back and forward I just want to express my love of Mothers!

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books.