Those who know me know that I don't talk about my mother much. Actually I don't talk about her at all. My most vivid thoughts are about her final years and those were not pleasant to recall. Somehow I came to believe that those final years represented the totality of my mom. I had forgotten all the good things my mom brought into my life.
The first thing, the most obvious thing was that my mom brought me life. If it wasn't for Mom, I wouldn't be here. The next thing was that my mom worked outside the home to help support us. But Mom's best quality was that she knew how to enjoy life.
Mom instilled a fun ethic. If it was not for Mom, I'd be all work and no play. Mom took us to the zoo, Bob-Lo (an amusement park island), and the art institute. Mom orchestrated holiday trappings that made those days a child's delight. As I got older, I recall having some nice heart-to-heart conversations with Mom, conversations you can only have with a mom.
I had to reach far back in my memories to recall good times with Mom. I have had to cross barriers of some very unpleasant stuff to do so. There are so many ways that parents can disappoint or fail us. We can look back and try to understand, to attempt to find a satisfactory explanation, but there may be no answers except one, that they were human.
So take time to appreciate your mom. Hopefully you will have many reasons to do so. If you can't think of any, there remains one: the fact you are here on this planet. I have recounted many reasons to appreciate my Mom's life. Unfortunately my opportunity to express appreciation are long gone. Except perhaps in this blog.
