Mother’s day is quickly approaching. I thought, what a great time to share about my mom, and memories of when I was little. But when I put pen to paper, while there are some memories of my mom and time spent with her, my thoughts keep going to my grandmother too. Almost more than my mom! That’s shocking, right? I mean, it has me texting my brother wondering what’s wrong with me!
My mom was a hard worker, and overall I remember her working a lot. As I strain my brain there are 3 memories that stick out. One was the time she got a speeding ticket after she picked up my brother and I from daycare. (She’s going to hate that I shared that 😊) The second, is going to the office with her a few times. I would act a bit shy when she’d introduce me to the people she worked with. I remember feeling important, thinking she was important. I would clink away on the typewriter amazed at the long keys pounding on the page. I loved the sound of the ding when you hit the end of a line. The third was once when she stayed home from work sick, I faked that I was sick too just to spend some one on one time with her. My parents got divorced when I was 11 and it changed my world. There is a very clear divide in my memories, not much before the divorce, a lot more memories after. This may be part of why it’s hard to remember? I won’t dig too deep into that…
In contrast, I remember tons of time spent with my grandparents when I was young. My grandma was a seamstress for JCPenney and she taught me how to use a sewing machine and sew little outfits for my Barbies. She was known for her wonderful Southern cooking. Desserts were always my favorite; I’d sit at the kitchen counter and watch her bake the best pies! My favorite were her chocolate peanut butter pie and her chocolate meringue pie (I always scraped the meringue off the top). She would take the extra pie crust and make me a special roll up with cinnamon, sugar, and butter. For my birthday I always requested her mouth-watering chocolate cake with homemade chocolate icing that would drip down the edges. She included me in everything she did, from spring cleaning (my least favorite), to cooking, to watching Hee Haw on Sundays with her and my grandpa.
Both of these women have shaped me into the woman and mother I am today. They are both amazingly strong and caring women, who would do anything for me and love me more than I even know. But in looking back, to me, these two women reflect a bit of the difference between being intentional and not being intentional. I’m not faulting my mom in any way! She was a hard working mom doing her best to make things work. My grandmother was nearing retirement and had more time. I’m a working mom as well, and I know it’s hard to be everything to everyone!
Look, we are in an unprecedented time. We were forced to bring life as we knew it to a screeching halt. What if we take this time to reset, look at what we have been doing these last 6 weeks, the extra time spent with our kids, with our family. Now is the time to start thinking about what you choose to let back in to your life as things start to re-open, now is the time to prioritize what is most important! Meals at the table together, movie nights as a family, family bike rides or walks, whatever has become part of your new routine… think about what your kids will remember most about your time together. It’s important, take this time to be intentional on how your family comes out of this. Don’t let this be a missed opportunity to make a change for the better.
Ps. The main picture is my brother and I when we were little with my grandma. Here’s a picture of my brother and I with our beautiful mom. She has approved the posting of this blog 🙂
