Honor Thy Mother

It's a day filled with mixed emotions, to say the least.  I know on this second year without our mother, my emotions are raw at best.

I miss that lady so much. 

I look at each of the faces among these little darlings, and I know that our mother meant something a little different to each.   A whole lot of something!

She could be bossy, fiercely protective and scary.  She embodied the term "spitfire." 

I saw a comment by my brother on Facebook recently when everyone was talking about the Baltimore mother who slapped a little sense into her 16-year-old son who was taking part in the looting. 

Mike stated that our mother probably would have done a lot worse to us.  And, I chuckled.  
Yes, she would, I agreed silently, and everyone would know about it too. 

Just as we admired her artistic creativity and her wonderful cooking, we shuddered or maybe even hid when we knew we'd done something to "disorder her mind," as Mark Twain so aptly described in one of his works.

We disordered our mother's mind on a regular basis.  And, usually we paid.  We in Batch One probably spent a lot more time doing the disordering, but Batch Two occasionally caused her dyed hair to turn a little grayer too. 

Mother got the bottle of Lady Clairol soon after handing baby Barbara to me while making a purchase at the old Anthony's on Cedar Street. 

"Too heavy for Grandma?" the clerk asked.  Mother didn't punch the lady out; in fact, her restraint that day was unbelievable for our mother who seldom passed on expressing her opinion.

I think her silver locks had turned a shade of brown, thanks to the bottle, by the next weekend. 

Though she had a sharp tongue and knew how to use it with us as well as enforce with that "look," Mother was one of the most fun-loving people I've ever known.  

We giggled into tears together at concerts when some poor youthful musician would send out a some sour notes.  

When we stood side by side in front of the bathroom mirror and tried to make the ugliest faces known to man, our faces would eventually need a major wipe-off from the outpouring of tears that came with the giggles after each newer and more grotesque expression. 

God, I miss those times. 

Our mother wanted the best for each of us, and she made that clear virtually every day she could.  So when we rationalized a bad grade by telling her that so and so (the smart kid in the class) flunked the test, Mother spouted an instant counter attack. 

"I don't care about so and so.  I care about you!"

And she did!  And, she seldom gave any of us any slack, 'cept maybe Jim, the youngest. 

We knew we'd better perform and we'd better not be quitters!

Laurie can tell you about quitters!  Let's just say Laurie finishes EVERY project!

Mother loved to travel---be it the back roads on a Sunday drive, a road trip across the country or an adventure overseas.  And, everyone would tell you she was a good traveler. 

For the most part on such excursions, that hard edge that usually kept us on our toes almost disappeared.  Whoever was taking her on the trip enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing she was truly happy and loving every minute. 

On a personal note, my mother was not always nice to me.  I refer to her as my best friend and my worst enemy.  And, I'd say that was pretty accurate.

But the person who has stood as the most influential person in one's life since birth always gets some slack, even if she didn't always reciprocate. 

She truly was, in every sense of the word, a matriarch and her influence shines through every day. 

Still, for me, there exists a gentle sometimes powerful yearning that begs for just a few minutes to see giggle with her in front of a mirror or to take a spring drive up the Moyie or some other pretty place where we all shared so many memorable moments with her. 

I guess the next best thing is to continue what we do since the day we said good bye to her and that is to let her fierce, dominant spirit continue to guide us while approaching our lives in the best way possible.  

Happy Mother's Day to our mother and to all others.