A few thoughts about the woman that made me; my mother loved to read. She was a frequent visitor at our small town library, and could often be found sitting reading the Encyclopedia Britannica. I wonder what she would have thought of the world of information at the fingertips of today's Internet users? I think she would have relished the ability to have so much knowledge so readily available. She also loved children... especially very young children. In this photo she is holding my wee baby daughter, just weeks old. I loved to see her with her grand children, hearts shooting out of her eyes as she gazed upon their sweet faces.
Some of my personal happiest memories are of her snuggling me at nap time,engaged in a book, (often a hard copy Readers Digest,) or reading to me one of my favorite books about animals. And I so remember her cooking me my very most favorite suppers,(lamb chops, baked chicken, spaghetti!) and sitting outside at dusk, looking at the silhouettes of the outlines of trees and calling out what we saw, "An elephant!" "A whale!" "A duck and ducklings!" When I walk through fall leaves I can feel her, holding my hand firmly, and kicking up the leaves. She would say, "Crunch, crunch, crunch, Billy Goats out to Lunch!" as our feet made a happy crackling sound in the piles of old foliage.
I also remember when she would go on a decorating spree at home. She would take on a project, say, redoing a bedroom. There would be scrubbing and painting and the moving about of any and all stationary objects. She would gleefully, "Rob Peter to pay Paul," moving furniture, paintings, lamps and nick knacks from one room to another, creating a fresh new space. My sister Deb and I strongly inherited this trait, and take enormous glee from tackling a project and freshening up some area in the same manner our mama did. We can very much feel her presence with us as we schlep furniture and clean and plot to make things just right in the area we are working on. It is about as much fun as we can have, and I believe it is a gift our mama left us.
She had a rich laugh, a deep capacity for love, a flair for fashion. And like every other human I've ever known, she had her flaws. Those flaws have faded from my memory with the passage of time. What I do remember is the love she gave, her beauty, and her innate kindness. I was lucky to have her for a mother.
And now I am the mother, and my daughter bent over backwards to honor me on Mother's Day. She started off with treating me to a pedicure after work on Saturday. We chatted happily while being pampered. Then we had a wonderful supper at the picnic table in our yard. Chris cooked lobsters, but Rachel treated me to a HUGE lobster, double the size of the average one.
It was beyond delicious!
Chris had the picnic table readied when we got home. He had music playing, and the cooler set up with ice and cold drinks. It had been rainy all day, but the sun came out as we readied to feast.
Bonus points! He had arranged a burn permit, and lit the huge brush pile I've been collecting since last year on fire. We were able to monitor the fire while we feasted, and then we moved out to the field to sit around it watching the flames dance as the evening gathered around us. Conversation flowed and the pile burned brightly. And HOTLY! It kept the ravenous black flies at bay.
Friend, also known as "other daughter" Megan came for the evening as well. She brought me a funny card and a surprise present, a beautiful hanging plant. I smile every time I look at it.
The fun continued on Sunday... lunch out, some poking around at antique shops, and a trip to the nursery to buy a box bursting with plants to put into the very funky galvanized tub Rachel gave me. She helped me plant my treasures before she headed back to Massachusetts.
I ended the day as I had begun it. Quietly contemplating how lucky I am, and feeling loved. It was a perfect weekend.
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