Happy Mother's Day
12/05/19 05:21
It seems to me that Mother’s Day often coincided with the opening of fishing season on the river next to our home when I was a kid. The convergence of the two holidays inspired, on more than one occasion, gifts of fishing gear to our mother. I don’t, however, ever remember our mother actually fishing. She had plenty of other things to do and it wasn’t here passion. I can remember her patience as she helped us untangle masses of fishing line and sort out clogged spinning reels. She was so good at helping such projects, that I resolved to try to exhibit similar patience when our children presented me with tangled messes.
We lived in a small town and most of the restaurants were closed on Sunday, so we didn’t often go out to eat on Mother’s Day. Our father was pretty good at making breakfast and he helped us prepare that meal for our mother on several occasions. Sometimes he would cook steak or another main dish for dinner. It often was the occasion for the first cookout of the year. He encouraged us to come up with our own gift ideas, saying, “She’s my wife, not my mother. She’s your mother.”
I’m not sure we ever got the holiday quite right, though there were homemade cards and small gifts and expressions of love. Looking back, it took me quite a while to figure out how to come up with gift ideas for others. I was distracted by what I wanted or what I would like to receive and had trouble focusing on the other, even when purchasing a gift. Our mother was always very good at expressing gratitude and making us feel loved even when our choices of gifts were a bit misdirected.
It seems like the years passed so quickly. Our mothers have gone before us and we are the oldest generation of the family and we marvel at the ways our children and their partners carry out the tasks of being parents.
Today, however, is a good day for a bit of nostalgia. It is a good day to think of mothers. I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by wonderful mothers. My own mother was courageous and adventurous and a wonderful mother. Before she had children, she earned her private pilot’s license and worked side by side with our father. She continued to share in his business interests, rising early in the morning while her children slept to do the books for the family business. With seven children in the family, she got plenty of opportunities to exercise her skills as a mother. Being a registered nurse didn’t hurt with all of the skinned knees, bumped heads and fish hooks poked in the wrong places that were a part of our growing up. I’ll never find sufficient words to tell of all of her wonderful qualities. One of the huge blessings of my life is that she lived in our home at the end of her life and her love and humor and cheerful spirit was a blessing to us for which we will always be grateful.
I was blessed with the most wonderful mother-in-law. I know men who make fun of that relationship, but in my case, it was a joy. My wife is the eldest of three daughters and was the first to marry. I got to be the first son of the family in a way, and it was a privileged position. My mother-in-law would carefully shop for shirts and other clothing for me as gifts. In the early years of our marriage I would often return a compliment about an outfit I was wearing by saying, “My mother-in-law has great fashion sense.” She welcomed me into her family and loved me without hesitation.
I knew long before we had children that my wife would be a wonderful mother, and that knowledge was born out when we had children in our lives. She had worked as a preschool teacher and had a special talent for 3 and 4 year old children, but her gifts as a mother have shown at every age and stage of our children’s lives. She was good with teenagers. She was good with infants. She is a wonderful mother. She once told me that she worried that it might be more challenging to love an adopted child than the one born to us, but she mastered that from the first day that our daughter came to live with us. I continue to be delighted with their relationship.
And now our son has three children and our daughter-in-law is an amazing and delightful mother to them. Our daughter is expecting and I have no doubt that she, too, will be a truly great mother.
I’ve been extremely fortunate in the mother department. There is much to celebrate on mother’s day and on every day of the year.
At one point, when I was a kid, I remember thinking, “We have mother’s day and father’s day, what about kids’ day?” I might even have said it out loud. Now that I’m a grandfather, I realize that when I was growing up every day was kids day. My mother and father always put us first, always celebrated our presence and always honored us with expressions of love and affection. We didn’t need a separate holiday to know we were loved or to remind us that we were special.
So happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers and to all who have wonderful memories of their mothers and to all who will one day become mothers. The legacy of love that is passed down from one generation to the next is a marvel and a miracle that is worth a day of celebration. I’m grateful for an annual holiday that gives me an opportunity to reflect on what a wonderful mother I had and all of the other wonderful mothers who have graced my life.
We lived in a small town and most of the restaurants were closed on Sunday, so we didn’t often go out to eat on Mother’s Day. Our father was pretty good at making breakfast and he helped us prepare that meal for our mother on several occasions. Sometimes he would cook steak or another main dish for dinner. It often was the occasion for the first cookout of the year. He encouraged us to come up with our own gift ideas, saying, “She’s my wife, not my mother. She’s your mother.”
I’m not sure we ever got the holiday quite right, though there were homemade cards and small gifts and expressions of love. Looking back, it took me quite a while to figure out how to come up with gift ideas for others. I was distracted by what I wanted or what I would like to receive and had trouble focusing on the other, even when purchasing a gift. Our mother was always very good at expressing gratitude and making us feel loved even when our choices of gifts were a bit misdirected.
It seems like the years passed so quickly. Our mothers have gone before us and we are the oldest generation of the family and we marvel at the ways our children and their partners carry out the tasks of being parents.
Today, however, is a good day for a bit of nostalgia. It is a good day to think of mothers. I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by wonderful mothers. My own mother was courageous and adventurous and a wonderful mother. Before she had children, she earned her private pilot’s license and worked side by side with our father. She continued to share in his business interests, rising early in the morning while her children slept to do the books for the family business. With seven children in the family, she got plenty of opportunities to exercise her skills as a mother. Being a registered nurse didn’t hurt with all of the skinned knees, bumped heads and fish hooks poked in the wrong places that were a part of our growing up. I’ll never find sufficient words to tell of all of her wonderful qualities. One of the huge blessings of my life is that she lived in our home at the end of her life and her love and humor and cheerful spirit was a blessing to us for which we will always be grateful.
I was blessed with the most wonderful mother-in-law. I know men who make fun of that relationship, but in my case, it was a joy. My wife is the eldest of three daughters and was the first to marry. I got to be the first son of the family in a way, and it was a privileged position. My mother-in-law would carefully shop for shirts and other clothing for me as gifts. In the early years of our marriage I would often return a compliment about an outfit I was wearing by saying, “My mother-in-law has great fashion sense.” She welcomed me into her family and loved me without hesitation.
I knew long before we had children that my wife would be a wonderful mother, and that knowledge was born out when we had children in our lives. She had worked as a preschool teacher and had a special talent for 3 and 4 year old children, but her gifts as a mother have shown at every age and stage of our children’s lives. She was good with teenagers. She was good with infants. She is a wonderful mother. She once told me that she worried that it might be more challenging to love an adopted child than the one born to us, but she mastered that from the first day that our daughter came to live with us. I continue to be delighted with their relationship.
And now our son has three children and our daughter-in-law is an amazing and delightful mother to them. Our daughter is expecting and I have no doubt that she, too, will be a truly great mother.
I’ve been extremely fortunate in the mother department. There is much to celebrate on mother’s day and on every day of the year.
At one point, when I was a kid, I remember thinking, “We have mother’s day and father’s day, what about kids’ day?” I might even have said it out loud. Now that I’m a grandfather, I realize that when I was growing up every day was kids day. My mother and father always put us first, always celebrated our presence and always honored us with expressions of love and affection. We didn’t need a separate holiday to know we were loved or to remind us that we were special.
So happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers and to all who have wonderful memories of their mothers and to all who will one day become mothers. The legacy of love that is passed down from one generation to the next is a marvel and a miracle that is worth a day of celebration. I’m grateful for an annual holiday that gives me an opportunity to reflect on what a wonderful mother I had and all of the other wonderful mothers who have graced my life.