MOTHER'S DAY MEMORIES

Pictures: my daughter, Shannon, my mom in 1945 w/me "in the oven," my son, Daren



(sigh)
GRITS (Girls Raised in the South), unite! Remember when on Mother's Day daughters would pin a red rose to their Sunday best if their mothers were still living and a white rose if their moms had passed away? Remember when Mother's Day meant breakfast in bed for Mom or later taking her out to dinner? It also meant pampering her the rest of the day. For really young daughters it often meant mother/daughter dresses to wear to church that day. I miss those days and those memories. More and more, it seems, those days which used to be just simple, special times to pay tribute to our loved ones have evolved into a mere Hallmark moment and a competition for the biggest brunch buffet. I hate that. For some reason we've lost sight of the fact that memories aren't made by how many cards we receive or how fancy the restaurant but by the TRADITIONS we forge and continue each and every year with our families. It's the pick-up basketball game after lunch or a stroll in the neighborhood to gaze in awe of the azaleas and dogwoods in full
bloom -- in the south, those blooms are all just in time for Mother's Day. Or it's bonding with daughters and other family members while preparing dinner or a quiet moment reading a story to a small grandchild.

It's still important that we enjoy the love, caring, wisdom of our mothers and pass all of that down to OUR daughters and sons. Keeping the old traditions and starting new ones are things of joy -- they bring a continuity to our lives and become small things we look forward to each year. They're familiar and elicit the warm and fuzzies to most of us. We shouldn't let these things fall by the wayside. They're too important -- not just to us today but to those who will eventually follow in our ancestral footsteps and carry on those special things that define us as a FAMILY.Happy Mother's Day to all y'all!
(sigh)