A Post-Mothers’ Day Musing – 13 May 2024

I’ve written about mothers before: mother elephants who force young males out of the herd when they reach puberty, mother gorillas who allow their youngsters to ride on their backs for years, and my own mother who could, at times, seem as powerful as a hurricane or as gentle as a summer breeze. She could bandage a skinned knee, soothe an injured ego, or send us outside to break a switch off the willow tree so she could use it on our bare behind. Then there is my wife, Karen, who raised our son Ian, helped me raise my other 3 boys, and even found time to provide comfort to an orphan gorilla.

But mothers of today face challenges and opportunities that my generation never dreamed of—from Artificial Intelligence to a changing climate and from space travel to modern medical breakthroughs. So, here’s to the mothers of my grandchildren, Amy and Kelly, who are raising the next generation of Porters. May God grant them the patience to accept the things in their children they cannot change, the courage to change the things that need to be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference. Happy belated Mother’s Day.