In celebration of mothers

Hundreds of thousands of US college students will earn bachelor's degrees this year. Over the next few weeks, many of them will walk across stages in their college towns, gather their diplomas and make plans to pack and move on to new ventures.

As they don caps and gowns, sit in crowded stadiums and arenas waiting to shake the hands of deans and professors who've helped guide them along the way, they'll no longer be students of a college but alumni of their alma mater.

Alma Mater is a Latin term that translates to nourishing mother. How fitting then that so many of these graduation ceremonies will take place around the time we celebrate our nation's mothers.

The merging of two different sources of lifelong teaching.

At their best, these institutions of higher learning model what mothers stand for. They aim to guide young people as they develop their own moral compasses; open minds by exposing them to diverse world views and if all goes well teach them to be mature adults who practice empathy, compassion and respect for the greater world around them.

What is a mother if not one of society's best examples in nurturing and guiding young minds?

A mother sacrifices. A mother loves beyond reason. A mother, in her very best self, aims to help her little ones grow into respectable adults and her respectable adults to maintain their values.

A mother dreams of seeing her child live his or her own dreams; to find love; to live a life enriched with new and different experiences, and to never stop learning.

This May as we celebrate our graduates, may we also celebrate the mothers who've raised them and pushed them along the way -- whether they be mothers in their home or the mothering institutions who help to nurture their minds and bodies throughout their young lives.

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Photo by Daria Obymaha: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-mother-and-child-1684127/