May 10, 2026

By Arthur H. Gunther III

thecolumnrule.com

Humanity did not, cannot, will not exist without mothers. They bring life and then nurture the developing child, even the adult; they suffer in many ways; they are a mix of joy and tears, fears and hope; they are the flowers that reappear when their children face difficulty. They are reaffirming. They are renewal.

     Some moms – too many – carry burden in life from war, abuse, other affliction and may not offer full guidance. Yet they are mothers always, and that is their distinction, with collective provenance back to the beginning. They give though they are in pain.

     Fathers feel it when sons and daughters leave, but they go on with tasks. Moms feel beyond that as the umbilical cord always stretches; it is only physically disconnected. With instinct they know when a child, now adult, is hurting. Or when there is happiness. The language between mom and offspring, no matter the age, is largely unspoken beyond the hug, the kiss on the cheek. If unuttered sentences were to be transcribed, whole books would be written.

     A mother remains one beyond her passing, and no daughter or son need look at her photograph to feel her presence – the recalled voice, the mannerism you now have that she had, the quirks too.  

     Women birth our bodies from their own. Our souls are left to us, but in that choice, remember who your mother wants you to be. No man can ever render to humanity as much as a mother; it’s a gift that keeps on giving.

     Happy Mother’s Day.

     The writer is a retired newspaperman. This essay includes earlier writing.

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