That motherly mystique

WE’RE grateful to mothers for guiding us in life. Here are proverbs that demystify their parental mystique, and acknowledge their love and sacrifices, followed by our thoughts about them:

A good mother is worth a hundred teachers. (She teaches day and night—giving corrections tirelessly and lovingly.) —Italian proverb

Children of the same mother do not always agree. (Their personalities may be diverse, yet she loves them all.) —Nigerian

Father and mother are kind, but God is kinder. (We acknowledge the nurturing nature of parents, and look up to the Ultimate Source of their good traits.) —Danish

The land is a mother that never dies. (Take care of the land that has been nurturing us for generations.) —Maori

A mother who spoils her child fattens a serpent. (A mother who does not discipline her children is nurturing problematic citizens.) —Spanish
He who takes the child by the hand takes the mother by the heart. —German

A mother understands what a child does not say. (She can sense what her child is going through.) —Jewish

A dog won’t forsake his master due to poverty; a son never deserts his mother because of her homely appearance. (A grateful child recognizes a mother’s sacrifice and won’t abandon her for superficial reasons.) —Chinese

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