When I was a kid in the 1980s, I was afraid of just about everything. The dark frightened me, being without my family was terrifying, and even the old stairs in my basement kept me on edge.

Nights were the worst. I’d make sure my older brother stayed awake until I finally drifted off. My father worked two jobs during those years, so it was my mother who stood beside me as I learned to face those fears. 

She helped me build courage  with her patience and understanding and she always had my back. I realize now that what she was really giving me wasn’t just reassurance, it was unconditional love. 

It’s a gift I’ve tried to pass on to my own children, while watching their own mother offer it up with a natural ease.

Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate countless women who give and nourish lives. And while there are dozens who have had major impacts on me, there are three who take a front row seat in my life.

My grandmother was someone who found joy in simple pleasures like Pepsi cola, lilacs, and, most of all, family. 

I think of her often this time of year, when lilac trees bloom in shades of pink, white, and deep purple. She nurtured a yard full of them, and their scent still brings me back to her in memories that carry me to her kitchen, where she’d make animal-shaped pancakes for my brothers and me. 

Although she’s passed on, her memories are mine to keep, and I do so fondly.

Spring has always felt like the perfect season for Mother’s Day. There’s something fitting about honoring those who gave us life just as the world reawakens and color bursts back onto the trees with new life. 

I’m fortunate to still celebrate this day and season with my own mother, as well as with the mother of my children. They are, without question, the two most important mothers in my life today. 

My own mom has never been one for extravagant gifts. In fact, she’s far better at giving them than receiving. Over time, I’ve come to understand that what she values most is our time and company. So that’s how we celebrate, we share a meal, we share memories, and we make new ones.

In all honesty even those plans are usually put in place by the mother of my own children who we usually honor with homemade cards and our best effort to give her some sort of a break.

At home, my three boys and I rely heavily on mom. She keeps the machine running. 

She spends the night with the baby by her side, is up at 4 a.m., and is back from spin class before the boys wake up at 7. She gets them fed, clothed, and out the door by 7:45 a.m.  before heading to work. She keeps track of appointments and sports schedules and birthday parties and the home inventory. Her life is dedicated to theirs. She keeps very little for herself, and I know she wouldn’t have it any other way.

I help where I can, or I at least I think I do, but the truth is I could never be a mother. I’m simply not built for it, but I’m sure glad for the work they do and I know the world would be a pretty awful place without them. 

And while Mother's Day is a good day for me, I know isn’t easy for everyone.

For those who have lost their mothers, I'm sure the day carries a heaviness. But even in grief, there can be comfort in memories. In those small moments that never really leave us. Whether it’s the smell of lilacs, a favorite meal, or a song that reminds you of your time together, those pieces remain. Treasure them. They were her gift to you.

So if you can visit, do it. If you can't, call. And if that's not an option, spend some time with those memories and reflect on that unconditional love.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Editor’s Notebook is written by North Country This Week News Editor Jimmy Lawton