Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-16
Mother and
Sons
~ Virginia T. Van De Water

sgOH, it Is pitiful. pitiful.' exclaims
Thackeray. the bootless love
Of mothers for their children
IN Vanity Fart"
The words REQUIRED 20 my mind as
T looked into the tragic eyes Of a widow
ne mother Of two sons Her husband
I'd died when her Oldest child was but
ave years old. She was what has been
sailed "a born mother" with whom ma
teTnity was an absorbing passion. She
lad married at eighteen and was a
widow at twenty -siK For years she
had worked uncomplainingly 10 edu-
ate her sons
There had been not only work but the
Rcrihoe OF many Of the things in which
women delight. She had not had time
% so into society during working hours,
and in the evening she did not like to
leave the boys" she put them both
through college. living close TO them,
spending her strength and youth in the
effort When one Of them finished his
university course he went into business
on the Pacific slope Then the mothers
face developed lines Of anxiety. stin she
! smiled bravely.
7 educated him that he might make
the best OF his chances" she said firm
". ''and it would be selfish for me TO
mention to him my dread Of parting
rom him. And / have my other boy.
you know"
Two years later her second son was
xraduated and went to South America
IS a mining engineer. II was soon after
this that / called on the lonely mother
a g., g a
began talking Of her boys-calmly at
tirst. then her voice quivered and broke.
Need Her No More.
What is there for me to do now?"
she asked. Il am no good TO anybody
I have dropped utterly out Of the Old
SGT and world to which ] once belonged
i am too old TO lear= new ways. My
one aim has been TO ut my boys for
the battle Of life. bur I hoped that bat
Tie would be fought near me Now
am left alone. ] would be "a selfish crea
ture IN the eyes Of the world II | were
s. try 10 keep my sons with me-for
they have their own lives to live, and
mine is done. They win never be mine
again They viii sometimes come 20
see me, but they will never come as they
used 20 come. They need me no more
She is not yet nifty and feels that her
life is done! she is one Of ths Moth
ers Of Men" Of whom George Cabot
-dge wrote:
III weep. mothers of men!
The hands Of the toOrId are
I. al.
The Tires pc bear for the
tcOrid's sole sake,
To trV their souls til they bend
or break,
Your children Uanish from out
pour ken
Weep, mothers Of men"
Il is an true, viewed from one stand
. point, and yet when women dare make
a moan like this the world calls them
"A selfish. II so. then It is too late for the
mischief TO be repaired.
s.The greatest kindness we can do our
B children is TO teach them to be indie
PENDENT OF us" remarked one woman
sententiously
The mother TO whom she spoke flung
her hands out with a gesture that was
almost despairing
.Ah. yes" she exclaimed bitterly, but
COCO Lord! who is going TO teach US to
Abe independent Of THEM
There is the cry Of the mother, Who
indeed?
Never Lose Daughters.
Mothers of daughters claim that they
never lose these. and their contention is
true Even after a girl marries she
turns TO her mother for advice and coun-
sci, often loving her better than she did
before she appreciated what women
must suffer for their children.
Yet, for the mother Of sons there is
Railways the possibility Of which our poet
writes. How can she fortify herself
against this misery? It can not be pre-
vented-God help her,- but IL may be
maSe lighter For she can be less un-
reasonlngiy unseltish.
Does this sound cruel? Such selfish
ness as l have in mind is kindness to|
the mother and true kindness TO the
child No boy is better for knowing that
he fills his mothers entire mental and
Y spiritual horizon. that she counts all
sacrifice for him as gain. The time ar
rives-unless he be unusually noble
when. in spite Of himself, the sacrifice
Is taken for granted by him: he thinks
OF il as his due and makes common
thing Of IT,
Would l have a boy sacrifice his fu-
ture 10 his mother? No. but l would
have him consult her a little In plan
ming that future, and he viii not do
this if she has not taught him to con-
slider her wishes as well as his own
II two equally good opportunities pre-
sent themselves, l would have him
choose the one which viii keep him
near his mother rather than that at
the other Side Of the continent-alwsys
supposing The one at home means as
4 Zig d fu,ure rcr him as does the one
81 abroad.
Wider Views of Life.
But we are dealing now with the
mother. rather than with the boy n
claim that even when her children are