Top Ten…Favorite Mom Memories
Sorry to leave you hanging yesterday…
In honor of one of my favorite holidays (it’s the one day I don’t have to do laundry, clean dishes or toilets, or cook a meal!!) I’d like to give credit where credit is due to my own mamacita. Here’s to you Mom!
FAVORITE MOM MEMORIES
1. The day she met each of her grandbabies…especially Will. At the time, we were in Indy, she and Dad were in Florida. She stayed two weeks with us, after Scott went back to work. Boy, did we have fun. I’m SURE there were some moments she wanted to step in and say, “No, Kathryn, if you’ll just do it this way it will be so much easier.” But, she didn’t. She knew just what to do without me telling her. Guess that’s what moms do, right? I’ve never been more scared, or more sad, when she left for the airplane. I remember standing in the living room telling her I wasn’t sure if I was cut out for this mom thing. She just smiled, hugged me and told me I was already doing a great job…
Nana loving on Clare
2. How she took care of my Gan-Gan. When everyone else couldn’t stand the heat, my mom stayed in the kitchen. She taught me alot about unconditional love and that sometimes, taking care of someone who doesn’t want your help but desperately needs it, isn’t pretty. But, she did it with grace.
3. 4-H Record Books. Remember those, Mom? $16K in scholarships later they were worth it. At the time, it’s a miracle we didn’t dig one another’s graves. We survived and I learned that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right…the first time.
4. Sewing. My mom is a phenomenal seamstress. Actually, she’s really good at everything she does, except sports…but we won’t go there 🙂 She and I spent many a screaming match blessed hour at the sewing machine. We’ve made cornice boards, throw pillows, dalmation puppy costumes, drapes – you name it.
5. Cooking. I have two words for you “Kiwi Cheesecake.” This is my mom’s creme de la creme. It rocks, so does her Italian Lasagna, Butter Pecan Ice Cream and Guacamole…although not all together.
6. Our traditional day after Christmas shopping trip. The season isn’t complete until we’ve ransacked Hallmark and Target in search of the best deals. And, we usually find them.
7. How she remembers everything. For years, my brother and I have been making fun of my mom for remembering even the smallest detail from something that happened forever and a decade ago. Guess what? Yep, that’s a gene that’s evidently hereditary. I can’t remember squat from my childhood, but I can remember the whole shebang from my own kids’ lives. Why is that???
8. How much she loves her Dad. My Papa, if you haven’t met him, is one amazing guy. He’s 82 years young and does more than most 20-year-olds. He’s funny and happy and gives great hugs. What’s not to love? I must say, watching my mom have such a special relationship with her Dad, makes me thankful for my own Dad (love you!!) and how my girls get to experience the same thing with Scott.
9. That she speaks her mind. My mom and I don’t always agree and sometimes we make sure everyone around us knows that, but at the end of the day, we agree to disagree and give each other a hug.
10. That we live in the same town. I have some very sweet memories of my own grandmother (and great-grandmother for that matter). The frozen banana pops Gan-Gan used to keep in her freezer, curling my hair in curlers on the back porch, shopping at her Hallmark store. I remember the gum sticks my Great Gan-Gan hid in the end table, her beautiful flowers and her squeezable cheeks. It’s an honor, really, to have my kids live so close to my own mom. She’s starting to make sweet memories with them – reading, making pancakes, doing puzzles – that I know they’ll remember for a lifetime.
