In honor of Mother’s Day today, here is my annual reprint of the blog post I wrote about all the wonderful things I learned from my Mom:
Today is Mother's Day so I wrote a blog post about my Mom
and all the wonderful things I have learned from her. Here they are, in random order:
Snacking
is good. Mom loves to
snack and had a simple rule for my brother and I when we were growing up: as
long as you brush your teeth, it's OK to eat potato chips, ice cream and
chocolate. When we played outside, Mom
would call us in to give us ice cream. And
during our marathon Scrabble sessions, there was always a snack break or
two. No snacks were forbidden and no
food was "evil," so we developed a healthy relationship with
food. And all that teeth-brushing must
have worked because I have never had a cavity in my life!
Talking
to strangers is ok. Mom talks
to anyone, especially in the grocery store.
All it takes to start a conversation is an observation about the size of
the iceberg lettuce or shared commiseration about the long checkout line—and
then the conversation is off and running.
Today it would be called "networking."
Dollars
are stretchable.
Growing up, we did not have a lot of money. Mom managed to keep a family of four afloat
on very, very little money. She did this
by working hard and spending only on necessities. And even when we didn't have a lot, she
enjoyed volunteering at church to make food baskets for people who had less
than we did. She made sacrifices for us;
in fact, I don't recall her ever buying anything for herself. We often joke that we should send her to
Washington, D.C. to help the government balance the budget.
Coupon
clipping is an art. Mom
checks the sale papers and clips coupons religiously. Then
she calls and tells me how much money she saved in the store. I expect to get a phone call from the police one
of these days, informing me that they've arrested her because she saved so much
on one item that the store had to pay HER for it.
Projects
can be fun.
Organizing the file cabinet? Unpacking boxes? Cleaning out the basement? Call Mom. She loves doing work around the house
especially if she gets to use the paper shredder or go to the dump (or
"transfer station," as it's called in my town). During her last visit, she helped me organize
my office closet, which had been so crammed with stuff that I hated opening
it. It took hours. And when I inevitably got tired of doing it, looked
at all the junk that we had piled on the floor and the desk and said "I
don't want to play this game anymore," Mom said "it's OK, we're
almost done" and kept me going. Now
everything is in its place and properly labeled and I love opening the closet. And some of the neighbors want to rent her out
to help with their projects.
Humor
helps. Mom always has a
positive attitude and loves a good laugh.
She loves the Pink Panther
movie and recently laughed hysterically at the dance scene in Johnny English, a spoof on spy movies
starring Rowan Atkinson (from the "Mr. Bean" series). We played the scene over and over, just to
make her laugh more. She will be delighted
to know they are releasing a sequel. She
also has the unfortunate habit of laughing whenever I am up on a chair, taking
a box down from the closet – I don't know why.
She is supposed to be holding the chair for me and instead, she starts
giggling just as I'm trying to lift a heavy box and then of course, I start laughing… luckily,
no one has gotten hurt…
Simple
things can make you happy. Mom
doesn't need a "spa day" or a meal at a fancy restaurant to be
happy. She is what we fondly call
"low maintenance." She enjoys
the little things – like watching an old movie starring Robert Taylor or Joseph
Cotton (extra points if it's set during World War II), going grocery-shopping
at the Shop-Rite store near my house, eating ice cream outside on a warm day
and of course, eating a Hershey's chocolate bar.
Complaining
is not helpful. Not
complaining is easy when life is easy, but Mom never complained even when life
got hard. When family members were sick
or even when my father died, Mom didn't complain or ask, "why me?"
She just kept going forward, with a strong spirit, a smile and a desire to help
other people. I'm still learning that
lesson.
A few weeks ago, I received a big envelope from Mom in
the mail. Inside were packages of one of
my favorite candies – the dots of colored sugar stuck to long strips of paper. (Yes, you get some of the paper stuck in your
teeth when you eat them, but that's half the fun.) She knows that I couldn't
find them locally, so she looked for them on one of her grocery trips and sent
them to me.
I'll be seeing Mom soon to celebrate Mother's Day and her birthday. What am I bringing her? Flowers? A gift
certificate for a massage? Nope. I'm
bringing her all my love – and chocolate brownies. Thanks, Mom, and I love you.