Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/825045
8 UCW MAY 17-23, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM LEGALLY SPEAKING I had the opportunity to be Mr. Mom this past weekend. My wife went to Pennsylvania for a wedding and left me with the two young Richardson boys, ages three and five. Simply put, it wore me out. e three of us made it, apart from a few cuts and scrapes, some quick tears and boys being boys. As I tried to comfort them through the daily tragedies, I could tell they wanted something I could not give them. I wasn't good enough, and that was OK. Sunday evening would be here soon. e experience, along with the holiday we just celebrated, got me thinking about motherhood. As Forrest Gump said, "It's funny what a young man recollects." When I was a little guy, long before the days of video monitors, I nearly strangled myself dangling from the rail of my top bunk. My mother had a feeling something was wrong, came in from the other room and saved me. I went on playing like nothing much had happened. She later told me that she cried for hours afterward. As I got a bit older, my mother would instinctively know that I had gotten into trouble the minute I walked in the door. "What happened?" she'd ask. "What did you do wrong?" I didn't have to say anything. She always knew, and I knew she knew. A mother's disappointment sticks in your mind and stays there. When I suffered several heartbreaks in my teenage years, it was Mom who seemed to "get it." She always had my back. She seemed to know the person I was, even better than I knew myself. I find that's often the case with mothers. Today, I get to witness the love of my life be a mother every day. It's beautiful to experience. She's creating and nurturing something special, something that will live on beyond our years. I'm grateful to be a part of it. Sometimes I fear I'll fall short somehow. As parents, we do the best we can. At the end of the weekend, I told my wife how tired I was. "Now you know what I deal with every day," she said. I had no response. I still don't. As I try to wrap my mind around the essence of motherhood, the word "constant" keeps running through my mind. Mothers are always there. ey are unending sources of strength, support and love. eir patience and endurance are endless. Mothers encourage us to go out and try it on our own, but they are always there when we come back, bruised and scraped, after the world (or our older brother) knocks us down. Mothers get us back on our feet and keep us on our toes. I've come to understand that a mother makes a house a home. She is the heartbeat and soul of the family. It's not the same without her, even if it's just for a weekend. Strength and Honor Are Her Clothing by MATT RICHARDSON MATT RICHARDSON, Attorney. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200 Mothers are always there. ey are unending sources of strength, support and love.