We all, I hope, have a Mother’s Day story that we remember vividly.
I have one that had nothing to do with my mom and it comes from the most unlikely place.
After high school, I went to junior college to play football for a man named Bubba Hooker. All I had heard is that this coach was mean, demanding and it would not be any fun playing for him if you did not enjoy working hard.
And he worked us hard. Maybe a compliment here or there but for the most part, we got nothing. Our first day of camp, he put us through an exhaustive conditioning drill which I passed and even to this day, have no clue how I made it through.
“OK boys, go shower, eat and we will have our first team meeting after that. DO NOT BE LATE!” Guess how many of us were late? Zero.
We go to the meeting room after dinner and he walks in, and if stoic was a person, it was Coach Hooker. He stood at the front of the room and stared at us. Then he spoke and I will never forget what he said as long as I live.
“First thing men, whatever you do, do not embarrass your teammates. Do not. Secondly, do not embarrass this program. You will want to do some knuckle-head things, but stop, do not embarrass this program.”
Then he paused, looked around the room, started to speak, stopped, walked to the chalkboard and began to write.
“Men, what I am about to write, I want you to remember this forever. Carry it your entire life and never forget it. Never.”
He started to write on the board and I can still hear that chalk going across and up and down. He finished, walked to the side and said, “Again, remember this forever, and never forget.”
The words on that board spoke to me in August of 1986. They speak to me as I write this. I tell my son this all the time and besides his relationship with Jesus, which is first and foremost, this is the second most important thing I want him to have his whole life.
The words on that board were this: Never Embarrass Your Mother.
Words that drifted away at certain points in my life but I would always come back to that. Never embarrass your mother.
My mom passed away 10 years ago and I still live by those 4 words.
I pray that I always will and my son, as well.
Happy Mother’s Day!