More Honorable Than Any Profession
When all is said, it is the mother, and the mother only, who is
a better citizen than the soldier who fights for his country.
The successful mother, the mother who does her part in rearing
and training aright the boys and girls, who are to be the men
and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community,
and occupies, if she only would realize it, a more honorable as
well as more important position than any man in it. The mother
is the one supreme asset of the national life. She is more important,
by far, than the successful statesman, or businessman, or artist,
or scientist.
—Theodore Roosevelt
“You’ll Be Great, My Boy”
As a boy, he worked long hours in a factory in Naples. He yearned
to be a singer. When ten years old, he took his first lesson in
voice. “You can’t sing. You haven’t any voice at
all. Your voice sounds like the wind in the shutters,” said
his teacher.
The boy’s mother, however, had visions of greatness for her
son. She believed that he had a talent to sing. She was very poor.
Putting her arms around him, she encouragingly said, “My
boy, I am going to make every sacrifice to pay for your voice
lessons.”
Her confidence in him and constant encouragement paid off! That
boy became one of the world’s greatest singers—Enrico
Caruso!
Mother
I think it must somewhere be written that the virtues of mothers
shall be visited on their children, as well as the sins of their
fathers. (cf: Exodus 34:7)
—Charles Dickens