The last "real" Mother's Day I had was in 1976. That's because around the Spring of that year, my Mom was diagnosed with colon cancer. Not nearly as much information was available then as there is now; and such screening procedures as colonoscopies weren't available on a widespread basis. So, by the time she realized something was wrong, and surgery was done to try to remove the cancerous section, the disease had already begun to spread into other areas of her body.

The Summer of '76 was the year I turned sixteen. The months following my Mom's surgery were spent hoping and praying for a miracle; but one didn't come, and my mother passed away in a hospital bed in Fresno, CA on the morning of December 18, 1976. She died exactly one month shy of her 52nd birthday.

So, when Mother's Day rolls around each May, I think about the woman who I only knew for 16-1/2 years, and pray that anyone else who is fortunate enough to have their Mom still around will treasure the days they have with her. With that in mind, here is a beautiful tribute to Moms everywhere; a song that went to #6 on the Billboard Country charts in 1987 by Glen Campbell and Steve Wariner, "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle."

 

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