MARY BRASWELL: Looking back at mothers, May 10, 2015

Each week Albany Herald researcher Mary Braswell looks for interesting events, places and people from the past. You can contact her at (229) 888-9371 or [email protected].

In honor of mothers near and far, here is a look back at what people have said over the years about the maternal figures in their lives and a gander also at what mothers teach their children.

— “A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” – Agatha Christie

— “I really learned it all from mothers.” – Dr. Benjamin Spock

— “What the mother sings to the cradle goes all the way down to the coffin.” – Henry Ward Beecher

— “Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world, a mother’s love is not.” – James Joyce

— “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power.” – Maya Angelou

— “When your mother asks, “Do you want a piece of advice?” it’s merely a formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.” – Erma Bombeck

— “Some mothers are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together.” – Pearl S. Buck

— “A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.” – Irish Proverb

— “Women’s natural role is to be the pillar of the family.” – Grace Kelly

— “Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.” – Oprah Winfrey

— “There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.” – Chinese Proverb

— “Working mothers are guinea pigs in a scientific experiment to show that sleep is not necessary to human life.” – Author Unknown

— “Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.” – Lin Yutang

—“Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.” – Stevie Wonder

—“A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.” – Victor Hugo

—“My mother said to me, ‘If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.’ Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso.” – Pablo Picasso

—“My mother’s wonderful. To me she’s perfection.” – Michael Jackson

—“A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother’s love endures through all.” – Washington Irving

—“Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.” – Billy Graham

—“There are only two things a child will share willingly; communicable diseases and its mother’s age.” – Benjamin Spock

—“Of all the roles I’ve played, none has been as fulfilling as being a mother.” – Annette Funicello

—“Motherhood is a great honor and privilege, yet it is also synonymous with servant-hood. Every day women are called upon to selflessly meet the needs of their families. Whether they are awake at night nursing a baby, spending their time and money on less-than-grateful teenagers, or preparing meals, moms continuously put others before themselves.” – Charles Stanley

— “A suburban mother’s role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car for ever after.” – Peter De Vries

— “There is no way to be a perfect mother but a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill

— “A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” – Cardinal Mermillod

Lessons from mothers

Wisdom- “You’re just like your father.”

Anticipation – “Just wait til your father gets home.”

Religion – “You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”

Stamina – “You’ll sit there until all those vegetables are gone.”

Sharing – “I am going to give that teacher a piece of my mind.”

Foresight – “Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”

Cleanliness – “Say that again and I’ll wash your mouth out with soap.”

History – “When I was your age…”

ESP – “Put on your coat. Don’t you think I know when you’re cold?”

Pain – “This hurts me more than it hurts you.”

Gratitude – “Some day you’ll thank me for this.”

Gardening – “There’s enough dirt in your ears to grow potatoes.”

Safety – “A little soap and water never killed anyone.”

Nutrition – “Cupcakes are not a breakfast food.”

Oral Hygiene – “Don’t put that in your mouth, you don’t know where it’s been.”

Quantities – “Enough is enough.”

Counting – “How many times do I have to tell you…?”

Weather – “This room of yours looks like a tornado came through it.”

Hypocrisy – “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!”

Logic – “If you fall out of that tree and break your leg, you can’t go shopping with me.”

Sound – “Don’t use that tone with me.”

God’s holiness – “If God had wanted you to have holes in your lip, nose, navel, eyebrow, etc. He would have put them there.”

Trust – “It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that I don’t trust everyone else.”

Finances – “Money doesn’t grow on trees, you know.”

Fear – “One day you’ll have a child just like you.”

Growing up – “You’ll always be my baby.”

QUIK QUIZ answer:

b) Albert Einstein