George confided to friends at his 50th wedding anniversary that his father-in-law gave him a watch on his wedding day.
Across the watch’s face, where he could see it a dozen times a day, were written the words, “Say something nice to Mary Lou today.”
In cleaning my office, I came across an article I saved from a magazine published in 2007. I admit I’m a packrat, but sometimes I’m glad that I keep things that give me a historical perspective on important issues.
This article was part of a series in the AFA Journal of the American Family Association. Its title is “End of Marria%e? Indicators All Point Down.” The percentage sign (%) in the title is not a mistake, because the story points to a key fact: In October of 2006, for the first time in the history of the United States, the percentage of American households that includes a married couple had slipped into the minority.
That discouraging fact was revealed by the American Community Service, released by the U.S. Census Bureau. It showed that 49.7 percent of more than 111 million households contained a married couple. That percentage was down from the 52 percent of households with a married couple in the year 2000.
We all need mothers. Obviously we wouldn’t be here if our mothers didn’t give us life. Yet, as we look forward to Mother’s Day on this Sunday, May 13, I think we need to examine what our society is doing to encourage and support mothers and mothers-to-be.
