I know I've posted this picture of my mom in a previous post, but I had to do it again. This is such a great snapshot of motherhood - beautiful woman trying to wrangle two very fussy toddlers, somehow get them to smile for the camera, maintain composure (on the outside anyways!) ... to no avail. Plus, the matching overalls are worth a second look - I LOVED those overalls!So over here I find myself hunkering down for Mother's Day. The loss of my mom is still too fresh for me to find much enjoyment in the one holiday that points out all-too-obviously: "Your Mom is Gone." (And before losing her, I would have never thought that 4 years would still feel like a fresh loss, but it does.) Even the fact that I have two wonderful boys doesn't distract me from the strangeness of a holiday that seems to no longer apply to me. I hope that doesn't sound ungrateful - it's just the ugly truth of grief. It is hard, but grieving must be done. So, in addition to celebrating being a mom myself this year, I will also spend some time grieving the loss of my own wonderful mom.
Hopwever, in the hopes of not leaving you too down-in-the-dumps (I'm realizing how many of you dear readers have lost your moms... lots of you.), I'll pass on some of my mom's best advice. I'm afraid I'm not remembering the funniest things she's said, but these are the things that, for whatever reason, REALLY stick with me:
1.) "Everyone else is so worried about how THEY look that they don't have time to notice how you look."
however,
2.) "Just because you can't see the back of your head doesn't mean nobody else can."
3.) "We could make this!" (Uttered literally anywhere about anything we saw that was cool - she definitely instilled in me the belief that I could make anything I wanted to.)
4.) "You will feel better in the morning." (I got mad every time she said this, but she was always right. Things always DID seem like less of a tragedy once I had gotten some sleep.)
and here's the really deep one:
5.) God is more interested in you being righteous than He is in you being happy. (That one has been life-altering for me.)
So happy Mother's Day to you. Whether you spend it celebrating or grieving, or a bit of both, may it be blessed.
6 comments:
Happy Mother's Day, bff. Thanks for the good advice from your great mom!
Beautifully written and completely understood! Thank you for sharing your mom's wisdom too!
Oh, how I understand! Being a mother is wonderful, it's been very healing for me, but it's not a replacement for not having our own moms. I will say a pray for you this weekend.
Dear Heather,
wow, such neat quotes! My mom said a few of those also. I love the picture! Precious!It speaks volumes of motherhood. I too feel as you do, both glad that I had a great mom, and still missing her 27 years later! It is amazing how suddenly tears can still just appear! In the mean time, we hug, love, laugh and play with our family and just do the work when it gets really necessary! by the way, I think you are doing an amazing job of being a mom! It would be fun to be your kid...playing under a table, playing in the sprinkler, and eating smores! Hugs,
Liz
Thanks for sharing.... I remember your mom... She is and was a beautiful person....
Thank you for posting this wonderful photo of your mom with you and David. I remember those overalls well! We were pregnant with our Davids at the same time, mine being born 5 weeks before your brother. Your mom was the most amazing friend/sister/encourager/wife/mother (I could go on and on), and I am still grieving her death. I love all my little memories of mommy time with her and you little ones. I still don't understand God's need for her to be in heaven as greater than ours... but that's my finite mind for ya! I have so many wonderful memories tucked away from our first years of marriage and babies, as we were blessed to spend many hours with your wonderful parents. I'm enjoying your blog and your creations! Keep it up; you are an honor to your sweet mom's memory!
With love, Donna Albert
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