Mom gives greatest advice

My friend Michelle tells the story of disciplining her littlest kid, Zeke.

“It was bath time and he didn’t want to take one,” she said. “But I told him he had to so he turns to me and says, ‘Momma I don’t love you anymore!’ I wanted to laugh but I didn’t; that would have encouraged him. He’s only 3,” she said. “So I told him that wasn’t very nice.”

I got my cell phone out of my pocket and punched in some numbers.

“Who are you calling?” Michelle asked.

“My mom,” I said. “To tell her that if I ever said, ‘I don’t love you’ that I’m sorry.”

Momma answered the phone.

“Hey mom, if I ever said ‘I don’t love you’ I sure am sorry,” I said.

She laughed and laughed. “Oh I don’t remember anything like that,” she said. Mom is 91 years old and lives in south Florida.

Every now and then I’ve found myself chatting with my mom and telling her I’m sorry for various things I’d done when growing up.

Mom would laugh and say, “It’s all part of life.”

One of my favorite movie scenes is from “Forrest Gump” where Forrest is sitting by his momma’s bedside — she’s fixin’ to check out of this ol’ world — and he asks her, “What’s my destiny momma?”

“You’re gonna have to figure that out for yourself,” she says.

I had a similar moment with my mom a while back. I was having a down day and told her I didn’t feel like I’d done all I’d set out to do in life.

“Where did I mess up, mom?”

“You moved around so much,” she said quickly with a laugh. “Now stay where you are and grow.”

My mom is the greatest mom ever.

I hope you feel the same way about yours.