This is my mom and her mom. I took this picture with a Kodak Instamatic camera when color photos were something of a novelty. I still have the picture but the camera is long gone.
Mom had picked me up from college for summer break. We then met my grandmother and went to visit her sister, my great aunt. I felt so privileged to be on this adventure, without my siblings or our father. Just me with these wise and caring women who influenced me greatly in positive ways.
My grandmother set a formal table and manners were de rigueur with her. She also loved to bake cookies and had me in the kitchen at an early age. Madeleines and pizzelles were two of her favorites. Baking suited her personality more than it does mine, patience and precision being two of her strengths. She also had a master’s degree in French, unusual for her generation.
Mom was a teacher, through and through. She instilled a love of learning in me by example. She was always game to explore, to try something new. She studied things she was interested in and was always exposing me to things she thought I would like to learn about. Mom loved fashion and read Women’s Wear Daily. She could sew and knit beautifully. I love fashion too, which is somewhat amusing since I spend most of my time now in camping shirts and garden boots.
Mom would be happy to know that I am still learning. The passion for growing beautiful flowers is only part of the equation. You also have to study diligently to learn what is required to get the conditions right for each type of flower. I remember my grandmother’s patience as I wait to harvest them at the optimal time.
I am so happy that they shared their gifts and talents with me, enabling me to apply their shared wisdom to my own life. The joy my grandmother shared when the cookies were done, or that my mother shared when she finished a sweater that she had knit for me were such great examples of life well lived. I experience that same joy when I harvest flowers that have come to their most beautiful point and share them with the community.
Hoping that you have warm memories of your mother or are planning to do something special with your mother to celebrate that special bond.
1 Corinthians 13:13
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day!