For many kids, the daily support shown by their mothers often becomes something taken for granted. The little things and big gestures alike can become somewhat expected as being a mother can be thankless responsibility.
At the school, various volunteering opportunities, from serving in the cafeteria to operating the register in the student store, are available to parents with spots filling up rather rapidly and easily when posted. These jobs that take hours out of their days are just one of the many sacrifices made by mothers to improve the wellbeing of their son.
In the time around Mother’s Day, a greater appreciation of a magnitude typically unseen in different months is often shown towards them. But around this holiday, many around the country try to give back to these seemingly irreplaceable parental figures for all the sacrifices and services they provide with over 84 percent of Americans expected to celebrate, $33.5 billion spent on gifts and 1.75 billion minutes spent on the phone with mothers according to Time Magazine.
For Kim Loftus, mother of junior William Loftus, she often thinks back to her experiences with her own mother, as she reflects on her role. In a lifetime full of gestures both big and small, Loftus remembers her mother’s food – something she now associates with the warm moments spent with her before her passing before the time Loftus was to be married.
“She was such a great cook, so it’s always been important to me to make the Christmases and the Thanksgivings have all this big, great food,” Loftus said. “(I) have recipes that I can pass down to my kids (representing) how I feel close to her.”
For many students like senior Jaden Ouyang, the role and impact of their mothers has shaped and assisted heavily in their development and maturity today.
“My mom’s also a musician, and she’s taught me music all my life,” Ouyang said. “She’s taught me integrity and discipline, not just in my music, but also everywhere in life. When I think of her, I think of back when I was a little kid with her sitting next to me while I was practicing piano, working through it together.”
But for others, this appreciation may not be as apparent. The seemingly harsh, over-critical and strict moments can have an effect on the way some kids view their parents.
“As I became a mother, I realized that my mom did everything she thought was the best she could do and the best for me,” Dawn Zierk, mother of junior Andrew and freshman Ryan Zierk, said. “Even though at the time I might have thought it was terrible, I realized, ‘wow, she really was trying her best to do what was she thought was the best for me.’”
In the dreary and hopeless moments, the support shown by mothers gives some Marksmen a needed boost to thrive.
“She’s taught me to never give up,” junior Patrick Zeballos said. “We’ve been through a couple of hard times these past few years, a couple of losses, but she has never given up and that really inspires me. I want her to know I really admire her. Her perseverance is really inspiring.”
With all that mothers do, many people – adults and kids alike – take the time on Mother’s Day to reflect on each little gift, sacrifice and service given to them. Each small gesture has a profound impact on their children as this generational generosity and kindness passes down the lineage.
“I am the mom I am today because of my mom,” Christina Jimenez, mother of junior Michael and 8th-grader Chris Jimenez, said. “She was the first person I called when I was pregnant or when I was going to get married. She was always the first. Sometimes you forget to tell your parents you love them. It’s not that you don’t, but life gets busy. Picking up the phone or sending a quick text is important, and I always tell my boys that if you ever need anything, good or bad, I’m only ever a phone call away.”
