by Tom Rinkes

Created on: May 11, 2008

Sentimentality is in the eye of the beholder, and right now I'm holding onto a cup of coffee and a spatula waiting for my lovely wife of thirty-six years, the mother of my children, to rise from her slumber. I cook breakfast for her every Mother's Day, and that's the only time I cook because I can only make one thing right and that's French Toast. She says I make the best she's tasted this side of Paris, and I know she's lying, but a good wife or mother will always sugar-coat the truth a little. That's because it's the thought that counts and times like these are what Rolaids are made for, aren't they?

My own mother died of breast cancer in 1988, and she was such a good Christian woman who instilled many good and valuable lessons in me that I didn't put into practice until long after she was gone. I only wish I had taken this holiday a bit more serious than I did. If one can look back at a loved one who's deceased and a smile comes to your face, then that's sentimentality, and I don't know how to get away from that. The tradition in our family is that mothers don't cook on this day-they get taken out for dinner at the restaurant of their choice. Today's pick is an old farmhouse-turned-eatery in the rolling hills of Eastern Ohio.

Cheesy to me would be a clown, or a Chippendale, hired to entertain the ladies right before desert. That just wouldn't do, and with my mother-in-law being eighty-two, the shock of all that might end up ruining the whole day, plus I don't want my children's mother watching any man dance wearing a bow tie. You can do all manner of things to show your gratitude for a mother's benefit to our lives, but I think the best thing is to guarantee them an H.F.D. ( Hassle Free Day.) That also includes me cleaning up the kitchen, loading the dishwasher and receiving my Klondike bar.

One doesn't realize how important mothers are until you lose one that wanted her children no matter how good or bad they were. These women should be honored everyday for the patience and foresight that most men don't or won't have, and that includes myself. I think the definition of a mother who should be honored once a year is a woman whose children will consult her first on important matters before they break the news, good or bad, to their father. She'll smooth the way with the tact needed to make things in the family happen sooner and with less drama, especially if the old man is a hard-head. Now I'll spend $4.95 plus tax once a year for that. So what if this is all a conspiracy concocted by the greeting card companies, it's still for a worthy cause.

Learn more about this author, Tom Rinkes.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.