Mother's Day
To all of you out there who have had the pleasure and honor of having children of your own, I sincerely wish you had a very Happy Mother's Day. To everyone else, I hope you took the time and spent the day with your Mom and enjoyed the love that equals no other. There is no love as special as the love you receive from your mom.
My mom was an old fashioned, wait on your kids hand and foot, cup of tea and homemade cookies Mom. Actually, it was homemade everything. In the winter we came home from school to a cup of hot tea and homemade sweets, or a bowl of hot, homemade soup. In the hot months we were greeted with a cold drink and some type of special baked goods. Our next door neighbor after moving away, always asked the same question whenever she ran into us in town, "does your mother still bake everyday?" Being typical kids, we looked at her with a confused look on our faces. We never gave a thought to her baking everyday. It was there and we ate it. We didn't stop to think where it came from or whether or not others lived the same way. We took it for granted.
I don't think we ever got our own meals or even snacks. The closest I came was grabbing something leftover from dinner that was sitting out on the counter. Mom always woke us up in the morning with a cup of tea and slice of toast before school. We never went to bed without being presented with a cup of tea and bedtime snack. Supper was always a homemade multiple course feast: meat, potatoes, vegetable, salad and dessert. Yes, I know what you're thinking. We were spoiled rotten. We knew it and I think we appreciated it. She was always there for us and with us. We never came home from school to find an empty house. If we did, we knew she wasn't far. She would be at Mrs. Minitti's who lived in the other half of our house. The only difference that made was that our afterschool snack was served by her instead of mom. At the time I didn't realize it, but now I believe she was my surrogate grandmother. My grandma died years before I was born. However, I feel like I know her anyway. Mom talked about her constantly. Growing up we heard little stories and examples of things she would say and do. After a lifetime of listening to Mom talk about her, it's not surprising that I should feel like I know her. I also realize they were very much alike. They were both great mothers and I only wish I will get the chance to be a mother someday and hope I can be as good as they were.
Anderson tweeted that he saw his Mom on Mother's Day and that he also thought about those without their moms. I thought that was sweet of him to say that. He mentioned that Father's Day makes him sad and he seems to realize that the same applies to those of us who have lost our moms. Every day is difficult and sad without your mom, but holidays are even worse.
