Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s day. At one extreme it is another commercial identity gone berserk. Brochures have filled the letterbox all week with “gifts” especially targeted for the female species (from $2 gifts to gifts worth 1000’s.) At the other end of the scale there will be some children making the proverbial burnt toast and cold tea treat for their mum. Somewhere in the middle, maybe, there is the hope that all of us pause a while and consider the role our mother has played in our lives.

For some this will be an act of love. For others it will be reflecting on cracked and frayed relationships that have so far taken up hours of therapy with still more to come!! A mother’s role is a powerful one in a person’s life. Like any type of power, it can be used for good or evil in the extreme.

For me, it is a very mixed day. I am one of the lucky ones. My mother was a strong, loving and giving woman. She strived hard and worked long hours to support her family as a widow after my father’s death, when I was 10 years old. This was no easy task, there were no benefits in those days and Mum worked two jobs to keep us all clothed, fed and educated. Mum didn't always approve of my decisions but she always loved and supported me, no matter what.

Mum died at the age of 85 and you know, she never missed anyone’s birthday. Without fail, a card would arrive in the mailbox on the exact birth date, for the birthday person. This included her children and their children. I found a pile of them the other day, when I was going through some of my stuff. Cards for me, Shelley, FBS and SBS. Cards the kids all treasured and took great delight in. There was usually some spending money as it becomes hard to know what to send when you live in another part of the country. They were a great source of joy and love.

I am grateful for my mother’s love and her strength. She showed me what a strong, loving woman is. She has walked with me in Shelley’s death and I have drawn on her strength and love to survive my daughter’s death. I wonder how she would have handled this tragedy and I am glad in some ways, she was spared that pain. She had had enough pain in her own life.

Shelley was the first baby she had seen that was so tiny. When we were born, the mother didn’t get to see the baby straight away, and it was I think up to a week before they got to hold and touch the baby. She had never seen a bellybutton, still with some of the cord attached. I remember her surprise and her question about it.

I hope she knows how much she has helped me in my life. In fact I know she does.

I am blessed with my three children and love all three for eternity. The world is a better place for the lives of these two young men and their sister. I am blessed and proud to be their mother. I carry them all in my heart – everyday.

Much love my darlings

KG
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