Why are you crying?" he asked his mom.
"Because I'm a mother," she told him.
"I don't understand," he said.
His mom just hugged him
and said, "You never will!"
Later the little boy asked his father why
Mother seemed to cry for no reason.
"All mothers cry for no reason,"
was all his dad could say.
The little boy grew up and became a man,
still wondering why mothers cry.
So he finally put in a call to God and
when God got on the phone the man said,
"God, why do mothers cry so easily."
God said, "You see son, when I made
mothers they had to be special.
I made their shoulders strong enough
to carry the weight of the world,
yet gentle enough to give comfort.
I gave them an inner strength to endure
childbirth and the rejection that many
times come from their children.
"I gave them a hardiness that
allows them to keep going when
everyone else gives up, and to
take care of their families through
sickness and fatigue without complaining.
"I gave them the sensitivity to love
their children under all circumstances,
even when their child has hurt them
very badly. This same sensitivity helps
them to make a child's boo-boo feel
better and helps them share
a teenager's anxieties and fears.
"I gave them a tear to shed.
It's theirs exclusively to
use whenever it's needed.
It's their only weakness.
It's a tear for mankind."
by Erma Bombeck

"When Teardrops Fall"
midi by

2003 Bruce DeBoer
Used with permission of the composer.