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A daily thought to keep you going successfully through your life!

• Tribute to
  Mothers and Grandmothers who care:

  Mean Moms & Grandmas
  
  Someday when my children are old enough
  to understand the logic that motivates a parent,
  I will tell them, as my Mean ole Mom told me:
  
  I loved you enough ...
  to ask where you were going, with whom,
  and what time you would be home.
  
  I loved you enough to be silent and let you
  discover that your new best friend was a creep.
  I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you
  cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.
  
  I loved you enough to let you see anger,
  disappointment, and tears in my eyes.
  Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.
  
  I loved you enough to let you assume the
  responsibility for your actions even when the
  penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
  
  But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to say
  NO when I knew you would hate me for it.
  
  Those were the most difficult battles of all.
  I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
  
  And someday when your children are old enough to understand
  the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.
  
  Was your Mom mean? I know mine was.
  We had the meanest mother in the whole world!
  
  While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we
  had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.
  
  When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch,
  we had to eat sandwiches.
  
  And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner
  that was different from what other kids had, too.
  
  Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times.
  You'd think we were convicts in a prison.
  She had to know who our friends were,
  and what we were doing with them.
  She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour,
  we would be gone for an hour or less.
  
  We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve
  to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work.
  We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to
  cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash
  and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie
  awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.
  
  She always insisted on us telling the truth, the
  whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time
  we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had
  eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!
  
  Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn
  when they drove up. They had to come up to the door;
  so she could meet them. While everyone else could
  date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16 .
  
  Because of our mother we missed out on lots of
  things other kids experienced. None of us have ever
  been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's
  property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.
  
  Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults.
  We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.
  
  I think that is what's wrong with the world today.
  It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

  See you tomorrow, God willing.
  There'll be another Success Thought here for you then.
  Meanwhile, be blessed in all you do today!
  PastorGrace.com