Mother Memories

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Marsha L Barnes

As Mother’s Day approaches, I knew what I’d write about this week. I could write about our mothers every week and never begin to cover a mother’s true impact. It’s been said for ages that a parent’s love for a child is completely unconditional, and I would venture to say that a mother’s love for a child is something even more profound, if possible. But the love a child has for his mother is just as powerful in its own way. Mothers truly are angels on earth.

In an April 2026 article from Reader’s Digest, readers sent in some special memories of their mothers. Here are some of the best examples:

One morning, I jokingly told my husband he dropped the ball because he didn’t make me coffee, and I was having trouble getting motivated to start the day. My 5-year-old son overheard me and asked me to explain what “dropped the ball” meant. A few minutes later, he came into our bedroom holding an overflowing coffee mug with a dishcloth underneath it to catch the drips. He said to my husband, “You dropped the ball, but I picked the ball up,” and he handed me the worst-tasting, most watered-down yet sweetest cup of coffee ever. —Jennifer Stockberger, Mount Vernon, Ohio

On the first day of first grade, I stood by the front door with butterflies in my stomach. I voiced my biggest concern to my mother: “How will I make friends?” Crouching in front of me, she handed me advice I carry with me to this day: “Be Switzerland.” Be friends with everyone. Treat everyone equally and fairly. For all of my 20 years, I have lived by these words. Soon, I will graduate and become a part of the real world. And on that first day, nervously facing new responsibilities, I know I will whisper two words to myself: “Be Switzerland.” —Abigail Wortman, West Long Branch, New Jersey

Coming home from work one day, I found my mom dancing to Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love.” I watched, enthralled, as she moved and sang along, her hips twisting to the beat, a big smile plastered on her face. It had been a long while since I’d seen her dance, so this display of pure joy was infectious. She died unexpectedly in her sleep a few weeks later. I have many memories of her that I’ll always cherish, but none quite as happy and carefree as her dance that day. It’s definitely the simple things—thanks, Robert Palmer! —Beth Kailukaitis, Kalamazoo Township, Michigan

My mother loved cardinals, the male red ones. When she got sick with pancreatic cancer and knew death was near, she told me to always look for the red cardinal—that would be her. I never paid too much attention to that statement; I was too busy becoming an adult. Twenty-five years later, every time I feel at my wits’ end, there is a cardinal flying past me or in a nearby tree. Is it a coincidence or my mother, all these years later, letting me know that everything will be OK? I’ll take the latter. —Priscilla Hartling, West Allis, Wisconsin           For many centuries, childbirth was the most dangerous thing a woman could ever do in her life, so simply being able to realize motherhood fully was a goal for millions of women who came before us. Now, modern mothers are inundated with books, blogs, and videos offering advice on exactly what they should do at every stage of motherhood. Much research has been done about the various types of mothers, the impact of mothers, and the traits of a good mother. The bottom line, according to most experts, is that being a “good enough” mother is simply fine. These experts point out what we mothers already know: we naturally know how to meet almost all our new babies’ needs. No woman will do the job flawlessly and without regrets, but being an attuned, nurturing mother to our children will prepare them for the rest of their lives.

On this Mother’s Day, I reflect on memories of my own mother. She’s been gone since 2008, and I think it’s her voice that I miss the most. Like the woman mentioned above, whenever I see a cardinal, I think of her telling me she’s still here. Her advice still rings in my mind to this day: don’t worry about things you can’t control, nothing good ever happens after midnight, hold close to your family, and girls, always wear a little lipstick.

“My mother’s gifts of courage to me were both large and small. The latter are woven so subtly into the fabric of my psyche that I can hardly distinguish where she stops and I begin.”         

Maya Angelou