>For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom, >this is beautiful. For those of us who aren't, this is >even more beautiful. For those who are moms, you'll love this. > >The young mother set her foot on the path of life. 'Is >this the long way?' she asked. And the guide said: 'Yes, and >the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end >of it. But the end will be better than the beginning.' > >But the young mother was happy, and she would not >believe that anything could be better than these years. So she >played with her children, and gathered flowers for >them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and >the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, >'Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.' > >Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was >dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother >drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the >children said, 'Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no >harm can come.' > >And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and >the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. >But at all times she said to the children,' A little patience >and we are there.' So the children climbed, and when they reached >the top they said, 'Mother, we would not have done it without you.' > >And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up >at the stars and said, 'This is a better day than the last, for my >children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. > >Yesterday gave them courage. Today, I 've given them strength.' >And the next day came strange clouds which darkened >the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children >groped and stumbled, and the mother said: 'Look up. Lift your >eyes to the light. ' And the children looked and saw above the clouds >an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness. > >And that night the Mother said, 'This is the best day of all, for >I have shown my children God.' > >And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and >the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent. > >But her children were tall and strong, and walked with >courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, >for she was as light as a feather; and at last they >came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road >and golden gates flung wide. > >And mother said, 'I have reached the end of my journey. >And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can >walk alone, and their children after them.' > >And the children said, 'You will always walk with us, >Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.' >And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the >gates closed after her. And they said: 'We cannot see her >but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. > >She is a living presence.......' >Your Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper >of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of >bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand >on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives >inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. > >She's the place you came from, your first home; and >she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your >first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can >separate you. Not time, not space... not even death!