An Evening in Celebration of My Mom

On Saturday evening I had the pleasure of accompanying my Mom to an event in her honour. For many years now she’s been a dedicated member of the Eastern Star. Roughly a year ago she accepted the duties and honour of being the District Deputy Grand Matron. On Saturday evening, Eastern Star members, family and friends, from far and wide, gathered to celebrate her year of service.

We walked through a processional/receiving line before I accompanied Mom up on stage. We sat there through many speeches, jokes, presentations and performances. Mom received many gifts and accolades.

My two boys sat in the audience, just in front of the stage, with other family members, snapping pictures of the entire event. Many other photographers were also quite noticeably busy.

Nearing the end of the formal portion of the evening, the emcee offered me the opportunity to stand at the microphone and say a few words. An opportunity I readily accepted, of course. I happily explained how proud we all are of Mom’s achievement and dedication. Of course, I also took the opportunity to do a little roasting, and to tell a few jokes, and to offer much thanks to all attendees.

The formal portion of the evening wrapped up with my Mom at the microphone, thanking the many, many people that supported her as she fulfilled her duties.

Afterwards we all retired to the basement of the town hall for refreshments and more laughter. My boys continued taking photographs, except now while one of them took each shot, the other somehow randomly popped up in the background of EACH and EVERY picture. Good fun.

Mom has worked very hard this past year. She’s worked long hours, driven great distances to attend so many meetings, and made countless phone calls and trips to see others. All without a dime of remuneration. She did so because she loved what she was doing.

I couldn’t help but think, as I sat there on stage beside my Mom throughout the evening, what would our businesses be like, what would our retail experiences be like, what would our economy and our lives be like, if everyone, if every single worker, thoroughly enjoyed his/her vocation?

Can you even begin to imagine?

Make it a great day! For yes, you do have the power to do so!