Sharing thanks for an early mothers day!
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| Central Park Wooden Bridge |
My family has a weird tradition of celebrating holidays early. For our family, the celebration is being together so we decided to gather a week early so my niece Chelsea could join the fun since she will be returning to take a summer college course. Half of us live on Long Island and the other half lives in New Jersey. This Sunday my sister-in-law Ginny was kind to host this wonderful early Mother's Day gathering. Here are my thanks!
- So thankful for Ginny, who hosted a delicious Mother's Day feast. I loved the BBQ steak, ribs, grilled vegetables and beautifully decorated chocolate cupcakes. It was great to see my nieces and nephews and my parents.
- So thankful for having a wonderful MOM! She is a fireball of creative energy! I hope I am as active as she as in my 70s.
- I am thankful to the traffic gods! We hit no traffic on the George Washington Bridge in either direction on our trip to New Jersey. I drive is always more pleasant when you are not stuck in hours of traffic.
- I am thankful for my daughter Liz's courage to return to school today. Also a special thanks to the staff at her high school who made her first day back a good and comfortable experience.
I am thankful for my mom. She is kind, quite and non judgemental. Her quite strength amazazes me. She had the energy to raise 6 children and also take care of my Gandmother who had dementia. She never complained and never lost her cool. She never raised her hand to any of us. My mother is a loving grandmother and the spouses all love her.
ReplyDeleteI am also thankful for my mother -in-law. She is the best mother in law anyone could hope for. She does not interfere and is always supportive. Her energy amazes me and she always looks beautiful. Her strenghth and faith has taught me so much. She is generous beyond belief and truly loves me like her daughter. I hope I can be such a wonderful mother in law if my son gets married.
I am so blessed to have these 2 wonderful women in my life. Happy Mothers Day to everyone!
Why I'm thankful for my mom falls as much into the category of why I'm thankful for all my life's experiences. It's because they've helped me in innumerable ways. But I can encapsulate it. I can say that my mom helped me, by example, about hanging in there when the going gets tough. I learned humor from her. I learned hard work. Cleanliness. Good cooking. And yes, love. And yes, I'm sure about it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about my mom as my mother, I appreciate that she did the best she knew how. She struggled through a new culture for my sister and me. She did her best to bring us up the only way she knew, which seems to me to be with dignity, laughter, respect and caring.
We always had good, homemade food in our bellies. She kept us clean and warm. I knew that she would always be there, a sort of anchor, a pillar of strength, when the current was sometimes tumultuous. I relied on my mom for this strength, and counted on her being there in that capacity. She's always known what needed to be done.
At the same time, there was the girlish side to her. She had married so young, and I was born when she was 20. So she was a young mom. We would often joke about so many things, especially as I got to be a little older, and she even came to confide in me.
In my mom I see a beautiful, vibrant and intelligent young German girl, who after marrying a sweet, handsome young American soldier back in the late 50's, did her best to raise her two girls. Yes, with love, not always the kind that was kissy-kissy, or even very affectionate, but with the kind of love that says, I'm here for you, always, your loving mother, who is dedicated to you, loyal to you, and guiding you to be a confident young woman, sort of to carry on the tradition of strong women of the family.
Now, as I see my mother aging, I still see a beautiful youthful woman, full of love of life, and confidence and pride in her self-sufficiency. At the same time, I see her softening in her inner core, it seems to me, becoming more vulnerable, more expressive in her love, and blooming into a truly radiant person.
Life is a journey, and my relationship with my mom has been a journey too. Despite differences we've had over the many years, my mom and I have become closer than we've been for many years. I think we've come to see each other as so valuable in each other's lives, that we do love each other so deeply, and that the different outlooks we have cultivated on life are secondary to our love - the love we feel for each other.
I am her daughter, she is my mother. That will always be. And we've rediscovered this treasure - this constancy - this special connection. When I look into my mother's eyes, I see love.