Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day has changed for me over the years.  Mom passed away in 2003, so the day has become a sort of memorial to her, but also a celebration of motherhood in general.  We usually go out as a family to celebrate my daughters' mother's (you got it...my wife) day.  Today our plans are to travel to visit my mother-in-law who has recently entered a retirement home.

I was a fortunate child growing up with the mother that I did.  She was a most kind, generous spirit and a wonderful cook.  We never had a great deal of money while I was growing up, but Mom always seemed to be able to make do, with what she had.

Mom loved to entertain.  We were always the family that the traveling minister, or any other chapel visitors, spent Sunday lunch with.  She wasn't a big talker, by any means, but would just sit and quietly smile as the conversation ebbed and flowed about her, graciously serving up second helpings.

She loved to garden, and I spent a lot of time with a hoe, learning the tricks of the trade.  She was the ultimate canner and preserver, so I did my fair share of picking and harvesting fresh vegetables.  She also loved her flower garden, although she did tend to plant things just a little haphazardly.  She was a sucker for the seed catalogues that arrived every winter.  A pretty picture, and she had to try it.

Mom loved music.  She had a wonderful alto voice and the natural ability to harmonize in any situation.  She also loved to listen to the radio (Dad was not a big fan of secular music, so we did this when he was away).  When Dad was home, we listened to the Chuck Wagon Gang, over and over and over..... and over.

Mom and I listening to  the old radio.

Mom was forty when I was born.  I'm sure she probably was not thrilled to discover herself pregnant again at that age.  But it was like she decided to make the best of the situation.  I often felt more like the doted upon grandchild.  Mom loved summer vacation, when my older brother and I were home with her. When all the other mothers were breathing a sigh of relief in September, Mom would be wiping away a few silent tears.

Mom was very patient with me in the kitchen.  I liked to experiment.  I don't recall having to clean up a lot after a cooking episode.  I guess that was just another thing she took in her stride.

A few years later, what a fashionista I was!

Mom was a stay at home mom.  She never really strayed far from home at all.  I grew up in the house she was born in.  As a teenager, she and her sisters went off to Orillia and Toronto to find work as domestics.  But when she met Dad, a war veteran, they purchased the farm from her parents.  Mom and Dad stayed on the farm, until 1982, when they moved three miles to the village, remodelling the home my grandparents had built years before.

In retirement, Mom and Dad made two across Canada and one to Europe.  In 2002, Mom was diagnosed with bowel cancer and had surgery.  Unfortunately the diagnosis came too late, and she succumbed to her disease the following spring.

I miss Mom.  There are times I still have the urge to call her and brag about something the girls have done.  But I am so fortunate to have all the happy childhood memories which I do.

Happy Mother's Day to all.

And that is about all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.