Quiet Grace...

 This Sunday is Mother's Day, and this year I am especially mindful of how fortunate I am to still have my mother in this life.  At 94 (and a half, as she likes to joke) she recently reminded me, in her own words, "at this age any of us could go at any time."  Considering that she delivered this pithy assessment in the middle of her large garden while planting potatoes, it would be easy to forget the truth of that statement.  I giggled when she said it, but it is impossible right now to ignore that reality.  None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, but in your 90's, you are more fragile than you were when you were younger, and we would do well to remember that fact.

Our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers are a resource to call on, a treasure chest of memories and thoughts and feelings lived over a lifetime.  They have perspective that is impossible when we are young.  I have noticed, through this pandemic, that the elderly, although appropriately concerned, have not been overly worried.  They have done what was asked, as they always have.  They stayed home and stayed isolated, but carried on, hardly missing a beat.  That is a message to us, I think.  They have survived a lot more than a pandemic, and they know that this too shall pass.  I take that to heart, because of their lived experience.

                              

This Mother's Day, I will give my mom the best gift I can give to her - I will spend time with her.  She doesn't need more stuff.  She has accumulated a lifetime of things, and has more than anyone will ever want or need, really.  But because I am all too aware that her time is increasingly limited, I crave spending the time just hearing her memories and thoughts and feelings.

My mom has lived in her hometown pretty much her entire life.  She still lives on the farm where she was born.  She still has a few of her earliest friends to reminisce with.  She is a person of simple needs, quiet, shy and unassuming.  She loves her family, her yard, and puts God first.  But that doesn't mean she is a simple person.  She has traveled and experienced and lived a long and productive life.  At 94, she has more to offer than ever.  And her experiences aren't over, because she continues to live a full and active life.

Mom is not someone that asks a lot of us.  She is a strong and independent woman, someone who has shown us what real woman power looks like.  She has overcome so much in her life, with so much grace and no resentment.  I cannot imagine a better role model for a young person who wants to know how to live their best life.

Mom, I love you.  I value you.  I cherish you.  I cannot imagine my life with any other mom, because you were simply the best mom I could have asked for.

I know I speak for the whole family when I say Happy Mother's Day.  Thank you for being you.  <3