As Mother’s Day approaches, I am of course reminded of my own mother, who died way too young, almost 50 years ago.
Now that our children are grown, this holiday for us is mainly about the bird’s eye view of parenting that comes from watching them raise their own kids. I’m sure there will be many cards and hand-crafted treasures bestowed on the young mothers in our family on Sunday.
Billy Collins’ incomparable “The Lanyard” comes to mind:
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light
And taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
The real giving, with all its obsessive fretting and pride and hope, flows down and down to the next generation. Among my loveliest memories are the faces of our children watching their children walk and run and dance, with so much amazement at each miraculous stage of growth in these young lives they brought into being.
They are so busy, these young mothers, and you wish you could somehow will them to slow down, to savor it, to forget about rushing out the door to buy the next birthday toy for the classmate.
Life is long but childhood is short.
Happy Mother’s Day, one and all!
And would you give up that lanyard? Of course not. I don't think we can appreciate our mothers until we are parents ourselves, and we can't see the long view, and how unimportant the toy for the classmate is, until we're old. Your children will be blogging about the same thing in 30 years' time!
ReplyDeleteLOL I helped with a few 'lanyards' for Hinke this morning. Also: coffee and breakfast in bed is a better idea in theory than in practice, as it turns out. Happy Mother's day, Marcia.
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