Mother’s Day Takes on a New Meaning This Year
By Sen. John Thune
Families across South Dakota will soon celebrate Mother’s Day. It’s a chance for all of us to honor the moms who changed us, fed us, clothed us, cleaned up after us, did our laundry, and sacrificed their own comforts and happiness to give us a better life. Honoring them one day a year hardly seems sufficient.
Growing up in Murdo, Mother’s Day was one of the few occasions when we got to eat out. My dad would treat my mom and our family to dinner after church at the Star Family Restaurant, the place where I would end up spending seven summers working to pay for college. Mother’s Day represented one of the few times a year that my mom got out of the kitchen, and true to her character, she enjoyed the moment to the fullest. Always sweet and kind, my mom had learned how to appreciate the simple things in life, a trait I’m grateful that she passed on to me and my siblings.
When Kimberley and I became parents, I had a whole new reason to celebrate Mother’s Day. Year after year, I watched as she selflessly nurtured our two daughters, and when the girls came of age, we were able on Mother’s Day to express our appreciation to Kimberley for being the super mom in our lives. She was, and is, deserving of every good thing that has come her way.
Which brings me to today. This year will be the first Mother’s Day for both of our daughters. Larissa had a little girl last September, and Brittany gave birth to a baby boy less than a month ago. Kimberley and I were proud to be there to see our two little girls embrace the intergenerational gift of motherhood and take on the daunting task of being a mom. And I got to watch Kimberley gently impart the wisdom of the lessons she learned from her days in the trenches as a young mom. They were special moments for us, and we won’t ever forget them.
This year will be a Mother’s Day like no other for our family. For Brittany and Luke and John Mark, and for Larissa and Scott and Henley, Mother’s Day just became real. And because of that, we are all truly blessed. Our family wishes all the moms out there across South Dakota a very happy Mother’s Day.
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