For the Love of Mother
Love claims its own acreage -and for each of us the landscape is different. I read on Facebook posts of endless love – and each is diverse. There will be confessions of endless love of spouse and others who struggle to find or feel that forever love. There is love of children and then those who either chose not to or were not able to have children, there is love of parents and then those whose parent may not have been very lovable, there is love of grandchildren and those who will never be a grandparent-and there is the love of pets which you must admit seems to fill so many of us.
On this Mother’s Day I reflect on the love of my very beautiful mother, and how that love has taught me and carried me through life. What a blessing it has been for me to have been born into that circle of love from my very first breath; and though she had so many mouths to feed she brought me home to the pack and understood just who I was amongst the many. We so cleverly arrive each with our own distinct way of being which in itself is miracle enough. We are often in awe of the miracle of the workings of our physical beings but I wonder if we also consider the miracle that each one of us has a vastly unique personality and pattern of being. And love itself-that too is a miracle.
There is a world of lessons I garnered from my mother- mostly by observation- the kindness and care with which she fashioned her life – simple, understated, gentle, kind. She was our greatest teacher and our most compassionate friend. She loved to laugh and though her days were chockfull of work and selflessness, she enjoyed life immensely. Among the lessons she taught me these stand out as those we learned just by watching – these are ways that we are taught to live the good life-to contribute- to care:
1. My mother loved the earth and tried to keep it healthy every day in her own way. Everything in our house was recycled and cared for - she folded cereal boxes and had had a paper bag full up paper recyclables before anyone knew how to go about it. By the sink every can or bottles was washed within an inch of its life to be recycled and everything that could be composted found its way to our vegetable garden. Very simply-Mom taught me to take care of the earth.
2. Mom could fix anything and was never quick to replace an appliance with a new one unless she couldn’t figure out its repair. There was no need for new, or more, or better-what she had was always good enough. Mom taught me not to be wasteful.
3. Mom cared about all things by leaving every place a little cleaner and nicer for the next person in line. When we walked through the trails in the woods she would toss the sticks and rocks into the underbrush so a fellow hiker wouldn’t get hurt, when we were in a store if she found a shirt that had fallen from a hanger or a product from a shelf, she made sure it was placed right back where it belonged, brushed off as good as new, when she washed her hands in a public rest room she would take the paper towels she used to dry her hands and wipe the sink basin so it would be cleaner for the next in line. Mom taught me to leave things a little better for the next in line.
4. When Mom vacuumed, she would pick up every pony bead my daughter dropped from a beading project and place them back in their proper container. Many of us would be tempted to vacuum it up and forget it, but not my mom. Everything had a value, nothing was wasted. Mom taught me to never take the easy path just take the right one.
5. Mom took pleasure in all of the beauty the earth had to offer. She reveled in the uniqueness of each sunset over Long Beach, she made lists of all of the different birds and animals she saw outside of her windows. She fed, welcomed and took care of every guest-human, animal, plant, or otherwise. Mom taught me to be welcoming, caring and appreciate the beauty around me.
Grateful always for the gift of my mom in my life- the person who taught me how to love. Hoping that wherever you find or have found love- that it sticks like crazy glue. And however you celebrate Mother’s Day – Mothering Day- may some of that love be with you today!