Hello everybody:
I do not know which of you is a mother or not but I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day. To me, mother means somebody who nurtures and builds you up. It isn't about gender or if somebody physically gave birth. To me, it's about how you know you can go to them with a problem. You know they will be there to listen to you even if you didn't know you needed to tell somebody something. You can talk to them in person, over a social media, or phone. It's because they are there for you.
With those definitions in mind, I would like to wish everybody a Happy Mother's Day because all my friends are mothers. They listen to people's problems. They are there to support people (and animals). All my friends are mother's because mother's are super great. I came up with my definition of what is a mother from MY mother. Edith Elvira (ducks because I told her middle name) Bromeland (Chamberlain). She, and her mother, were great examples of what a female could do.
Dad died when I was around 12. In one aspect I'm glad that he did. NO! I'm NOT glad that he died, but I am glad that in our short time together, I only have fond memories of him. That also pulled mom and I together more. She was there during my dating period when I was young. She helped come up with nicknames for my dates and when they broke my heart she came up with fictional ways to deal with them. They should thank me that she never carried out those plans. Mother loved Tarzan movies and Westerns. Being split in two by saplings as seen on Tarzan, or buried in sand by an ant hill and have honey poured on them from a Western usually got me out of my slump. You know we had a good relationship because I would talk about my dates. I didn't tell EVERYTHING because I would still be grounded if I had.
That's not all that I love about them. I love the stories mom would tell of grandma. How grandma would keep setting back the clock so that grandpa wouldn't know mom was coming in late from a date. Or what grandma did to appease grandpa when mom hitchhiked to a concert out of state. Of course these stories were also meant to remind me that mom had a wild side and that she could out think me.
I also loved the stories mom would tell me about the exploits of my brothers and sister before I was born. Things like rearranging the furniture so when my brother came in late, he would trip over the overstuffed chair. He tripped and landed on mom who was sitting in the chair. Or the time that she would stay up late (11 pm for her) and wait for my other brother to get off work. He always drove by our house to make sure we were ok. She would stand outside on the front lawn and use an electric lantern to flag him down. He would pull over, all concerned, and she would then take him into the kitchen where she had food waiting for him. She would make him sit down, eat, and tell her about work and not let him go home (4 blocks away) until she saw him start to yawn. Then she would send him home knowing that he would sleep.
Those are the family examples but mom was also a leader. She was the first woman foreman at a local factory. She was the manager of our little local newspaper. She would meet snakes, both animal and politicians, who she would talk about and told me how she handled them. She showed me that it was ok to be afraid of things and people but remember that they could be afraid of you too. Smile and work your way through it. Her motto was "kill them with kindness".She didn't like to brag about her prowess with firearms although she was almost better than her twin brothers who put on a live wild west show on stage. She taught me that you didn't have to brag or show off. It was enough that you knew you could do it. She also taught me that you can be a mother to others by listening and being there for them when they need it.
All those life lessons were done over many years and yet the memories still linger. Delightful memories, sad memories, all intermixed to help make me what I am. Of course I had to throw in some of me during those years but then, of course, that shouldn't be a surprise. I am my mothers daughter after all.
Once again, everybody have a great day. I'm off to start a new test pattern and it's so much larger than I'm used to. I won't be able to wait until the last minute to do it. As always, thanks for reading what was going on in my brain. It was either this or write about wondering how large my ears are. Perhaps that will be the next post.
I do not know which of you is a mother or not but I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day. To me, mother means somebody who nurtures and builds you up. It isn't about gender or if somebody physically gave birth. To me, it's about how you know you can go to them with a problem. You know they will be there to listen to you even if you didn't know you needed to tell somebody something. You can talk to them in person, over a social media, or phone. It's because they are there for you.
With those definitions in mind, I would like to wish everybody a Happy Mother's Day because all my friends are mothers. They listen to people's problems. They are there to support people (and animals). All my friends are mother's because mother's are super great. I came up with my definition of what is a mother from MY mother. Edith Elvira (ducks because I told her middle name) Bromeland (Chamberlain). She, and her mother, were great examples of what a female could do.
Dad died when I was around 12. In one aspect I'm glad that he did. NO! I'm NOT glad that he died, but I am glad that in our short time together, I only have fond memories of him. That also pulled mom and I together more. She was there during my dating period when I was young. She helped come up with nicknames for my dates and when they broke my heart she came up with fictional ways to deal with them. They should thank me that she never carried out those plans. Mother loved Tarzan movies and Westerns. Being split in two by saplings as seen on Tarzan, or buried in sand by an ant hill and have honey poured on them from a Western usually got me out of my slump. You know we had a good relationship because I would talk about my dates. I didn't tell EVERYTHING because I would still be grounded if I had.
That's not all that I love about them. I love the stories mom would tell of grandma. How grandma would keep setting back the clock so that grandpa wouldn't know mom was coming in late from a date. Or what grandma did to appease grandpa when mom hitchhiked to a concert out of state. Of course these stories were also meant to remind me that mom had a wild side and that she could out think me.
I also loved the stories mom would tell me about the exploits of my brothers and sister before I was born. Things like rearranging the furniture so when my brother came in late, he would trip over the overstuffed chair. He tripped and landed on mom who was sitting in the chair. Or the time that she would stay up late (11 pm for her) and wait for my other brother to get off work. He always drove by our house to make sure we were ok. She would stand outside on the front lawn and use an electric lantern to flag him down. He would pull over, all concerned, and she would then take him into the kitchen where she had food waiting for him. She would make him sit down, eat, and tell her about work and not let him go home (4 blocks away) until she saw him start to yawn. Then she would send him home knowing that he would sleep.
Those are the family examples but mom was also a leader. She was the first woman foreman at a local factory. She was the manager of our little local newspaper. She would meet snakes, both animal and politicians, who she would talk about and told me how she handled them. She showed me that it was ok to be afraid of things and people but remember that they could be afraid of you too. Smile and work your way through it. Her motto was "kill them with kindness".She didn't like to brag about her prowess with firearms although she was almost better than her twin brothers who put on a live wild west show on stage. She taught me that you didn't have to brag or show off. It was enough that you knew you could do it. She also taught me that you can be a mother to others by listening and being there for them when they need it.
All those life lessons were done over many years and yet the memories still linger. Delightful memories, sad memories, all intermixed to help make me what I am. Of course I had to throw in some of me during those years but then, of course, that shouldn't be a surprise. I am my mothers daughter after all.
Once again, everybody have a great day. I'm off to start a new test pattern and it's so much larger than I'm used to. I won't be able to wait until the last minute to do it. As always, thanks for reading what was going on in my brain. It was either this or write about wondering how large my ears are. Perhaps that will be the next post.
3 comments:
Your mother sounds like a great lady.
You have it right. Mothering is a state of concern, not only a birthing. Happy Mother's Day to you Bonni.
What a great portrait of your mother! Well said!!! Hugs, Deb
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