A Perfect Day To Be Grateful

What can I, a mother and grandmother, do on Mother’s Day, that would be a gift to myself? Answer: take a nap. It’s an old family tradition, one my mother taught me. While raising we three children, she would sometimes walk into our living room and “collapse” on the sofa—her word. Once she lay down, she would instantly fall asleep. I began to understand in my kid-way, that she longed to have a reason to JUST RELAX, to LIE THERE AND DO NOTHING.TODAY, NO EXCUSE NECESSARYI often have to convince myself that it’s fine to take a nap, let other things go.  And if I can’t doze off, the next best thing is reading. All mothers, grandmothers, aunts deserve time out, time set aside for their own thoughts and dreams.OTHER GIFTS…Of course, some of us would enjoy a massage or a manicure. Mother hands are constantly giving and caring. Our hands, even as they age, are beautiful symbols of all we do to raise, nurture, love our children. We soothe when our children are sick–no matter what their age. We clap at every piano recital, Scout event, baseball game and always encourage our children no matter what ages they are. We let our children know we are there for them.FROM MOTHER TO DAUGHTEROn this Mother’s Day, I am blessed, gifted with three perfect grandchildren, and of course my amazing adult children.Each one of them is wildly different, each one talented, loving. What more could a mother ask for. And when my husband and I need them, they are there for us. When we cry, they cry; when we laugh, they laugh. They can get wild and crazy, are always creative, curious and interesting–and all have found amazing life-partners. They love adventure and yet can sit with us on a cold winter night or a warm summer evening just talking–sharing ideas on music, books, film, politics.  They all have their own opinions–it’s wonderful to take in their knowledge, their strengths and eagerness.And now that they are grown, the following scene, which is part of my short story FRAGILE, is only a memory, but a wonderful one.

When she tucks her children in bed that night, they are exuberant. As she goes down the stairs to be with Adam, they call over and over the words: “Love ya, see ya in the morning, good night. Love ya, see ya in the morning, good night. Love ya…”      Tess stops, listens, the words falling on her with their weight of wonder. And welcoming all of it, she holds them, keeps them like a charm her children have hung gently around her neck.     

 

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