
Happy Mothers Day, the Sad and Happy Parts
May is Mother’s day month!
I wish I remembered this day.
I wish we could remember our lives from birth. It might help us understand some aspects of ourselves we have overlooked.
My mother became ill and diagnosed with heart disease when I was ten years old. Although she lived a very long life, my brother shared she was never quite the same after her illness.
Here are a few things Mom taught me:
- To delegate
- To make caramels
- To sew
- To travel
- To attend concerts and plays
- To swim
- To make a pie crust
- To help people less fortunate
- To love reading
- To hostess a party
- To love the out of doors
- To appreciate the arts
- To welcome newcomers
- To have manners
I have her green thumb and color sense. I can grow just about any plant with very little effort. I have a knack with color with practically a photographic memory of colors.
To some extent, I inherited my singing voice from Mom. When she was around eleven years old, she was asked to sing Japan’s national anthem for the Emperor of Japan for some public gathering. I guess she forgot the words.
She never forgot that or forgave herself. What a pity. At the time, no one knew that was too much pressure to place on a young person. Whenever I see a child singing the Star Spangled Banner at a sporting event, I think of Mom.
Mom wasn’t always the nicest person. She could be mean and spiteful. Then, no one knew about the benefits of anti-depressants or seeking counseling. Both were taboo.
If they had, I think a lot of Mom’s issues could have been helped. She had a tendency to pit her kids against one another which only pushed us to be more competitive with one another.
To this day, my brother and my sister and I are splintered with many deep seeded hurts. We can’t seem to get past them. Maybe she didn’t mean to do this to us, but it’s a common complaint among us.
The good thing is I have broken that pattern with my own daughters and step son and they are all the best of friends with each other.
I hoped I’d have a chance to speak to Mom about myself and what I’ve learned about life. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to do so.
I’m a very driven person who needs a constant creative challenge set before me. Mom didn’t understand that about me. In fact, I think it intimidated her. I know she compared her stay-at-home life with my sister and I and our working mother lives. She appeared regretful about her decisions, but aren’t we all at times?
I’m sorry to say she could never teach me to knit. Lord, I’m terrible at it!
That is such a sweet picture 🙂 Your stories are important for young people who may be going through the same thing you did! 💖
Sent from my iPad
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