The Pioneer, Vol. 51 Issue 8

THE
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Editorial
Remember
all mothers
May is full of reasons to celebrate. Gardens
come to bloom, bringing life and color to a dismal
landscape. Birds and other critters sing and chatter
in the backyards as another season starts fresh and
new.
It is a season budding with promise. Moms get
breakfast in bed or treated to lunch. Weddings are
held, graduations are planned, summer plans are
hatched. Frowns and worries give way to smiles
and lighter steps.
Yet under the all of the color and the gaiety,
there is a shadow of sadness. Not every mom sees
Mother’s Day the same way.
There is the mom who keeps a box tucked
away in a closet or attic. Each piece has a specific
memory: This is the hat that he wore when he came
home from the hospital. This is the blanket that
grandma made before she passed away. That is the
onesie he wore when he took his last breath.
There is the mom who felt all through her
pregnancy that she was not “mom” quality. When
her daughter was born, she could not explain to
anyone why she could not hold her newborn.
Words like “crazy” and “mental” bounce around
her head.
Whatever the reason, her house is quiet and
only shadows of giggles hang on the walls. As she
watches the neighborhood kids ride their bikes
past her house, she remembers the skinned knees
she had to patch.
Sometimes the kids come home from college
or wherever their lives took them. When they
do, she will sit at the kitchen table, listening and
wondering who this stranger is that bears her
child’s name. What happened to the child she
knew, the one missing teeth and bubbling over
with enthusiasm, telling her about school?
Mother’s Day is about memories, old and new.
It is about honoring the world’s second oldest
profession (Erma Bombeck’s definition). It is easy
to honor the mom who is surrounded by her kids.
Just don’t forget the one who has only ghosts to
hold. She is still a mom, too.
2 / piercepioneernews.com
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Marji Harris
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Staff
ABOUT THE COVER: The bond
between a mother and her children is
a precious part of life. It’s important
to celebrate these amazing women.
Lorelei Watson / Staff Photo
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THE PIONEER MISSION STATEMENT
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The Pioneer is an official publication of the Associated Students of Pierce College and is
sanctioned as such by the college’s Board of Trustees and funded primarily by student fees. It
is a public forum for student expression since 1974.
The Pioneer’s mission is:
(1) to inform the student body of issues and events of interest, relevance and importance;
(2) to provide students with a forum for discussion, opinion and expression; and
(3) to provide the student body with editorial leadership.
In carrying out this mission, The Pioneer will use as its ethical guide the Statement of
Principles adopted by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Although it will strive to
represent the diverse views and interests of the student body, The Pioneer is not responsible
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May 7, 2018 / Vol. 51, Issue 8