Happy Mother's Day Weekend

[Mimi]

Happy Mothers Day to all.

Love, Mimi




EDITED: Merged threads - Sluff/Admin

[Ohio Buckeye]

Thunderstorms here in Ohio today.  Wouldn't you know?

[kitkatz]

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!   

[monrein]

I lost my Mum to melanoma when she was 46 and I was 25.  I carry her influence around with me always and still call upon her by imagining what she might say to me about any number of things.  The best gift she gave me was a true sense of self-esteem as she thought I was more than OK just the way I was, although she didn't hesitate to tell me when she thought I was being selfish, idiotic or just plain wrong.  She valued my opinions and was vitally interested in what I thought, in how I felt and in what I was doing.  My Mum was not a huggy kissy mother, she disliked cooking, she never remembered my birthday, she had a wretched marriage, she smoked too much and she often seemed preoccupied. She was quick to lose her temper but never held on to anger or bore a grudge.  I don't remember her ever saying "I love you" but I knew she did without the shadow of a doubt.  I never felt I had to strive for her approval but I hated it when she was disappointed in me.  She was also very beautiful(in an Elizabeth Montgomery from Bewitched kind of way), good at business, a whiz at math and a loyal friend. I went to boarding school at 10 and left home for good at 15 but despite all this she knew me and understood me better than anyone did and she encouraged me to think for myself.  She thought I was smart but if ever I acted too big for my britches she would point out that smart is good, kind is better and that smart came in different forms and I clearly did not possess all of them.  Nothing personal, just reality.  She saw me as a real person, with strengths to be nurtured and flaws to be modified.  She would also apologize if she felt she had been wrong and she expected the same. When I disappointed her our talk about it always left me disappointed in myself and determined not to let myself down like that again.  She encouraged me to make decisions even as a very young child and to face the consequences of them, to take responsibility for them and to make amends when necessary.  When I went home for holidays she would be excited to see me and we'd stay up all night catching up.  One year she read all of my required texts in French literature in translation so we could discuss them and she could see how I was thinking about things.  She also had me translate all my essays so we could discuss my interpretations of things.   Was she perfect?  Of course not.  But she was very very good enough and pointed me in the direction of independence and strength.  I miss her but am glad I had her as long as I did.  

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms out there.  I think your job is the most important one on earth.

[okarol]

Thanks for sharing you mom with us monrein. 

[Sluff]

That was a nice read Monrein and it leaves me wondering if I have given my Son the tools to get through life. I can only hope that when he gets through his late teens and moves on with the Army in a year, that he will grow up into maturity with the same thoughts. I am his father but he has not had the best role model with his Mother, and Christy has tried her best to take over the Mothers role as best as she knows how with much resistance on his part.

[monrein]

Well Sluff, they say that it's the same-sex parent that plays the biggest role in a child's development (of course there are exceptions)  and I have no doubt that your son will take with him the example of your caring for others, your gentle nature, your sense of humour and playfulness, your work ethic etc.  Resistance or rebellion is also quite a common feature of adolescence  and is part of the push to cut the apron strings.  Give him time and I bet you'll find that your best efforts are quite good enough. 

[skyedogrocks]

Hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day.  For the past 10 years I have hated the day, it never sat well with me.  I don't get along with my mother and I tried for years to get pregnant to no avail.  A few years ago I miscarried and boycotted celebrating Mom's day with Rob's family.  It was too hard to bear. 

This year I celebrated my first Mother's Day with Rob and our 9 year old soon to be adopted son and it was the best!  The days leading up to were hard, he is pretty pissed off with his bio family and another pre-adoptive family for giving up on him so he is taking it out on us.  But on Mother's Day he turned his attitude around to make it a special day for me.  He made me a flower in school along with a cermamic thingie.  He also made me a homemade card (LOVE those the best), gave me an ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery and a coffee mug with a picture of the two of us saying "I love my Mom".  It doesn't matter that I didn't give birth to him, he is my son and my love for the rest of our lives.   

[thegrammalady]

i didn't quite make mother's day, but i'm off this morning to visit my mom in oregon for an entire month! i'm so excited i can hardly stand it 
 i promise to check in every now and again because my mom finally moved into the present and gave up her phone line connection to the internet. she even bought a new computer in january.  what a concept a new computer and dsl. hope everyone had a terrific sunday.

[paris]

Skyedogrocks,      What a wonderful day for you!!!   

[kitkatz]

I love the ceramic thingys the kids made for me.  I still have most of them in my house in special places.