Mother's Day, Looking Back

Florence Shop--where I chose the wrong gift. Great photo from bergenfieldhsalumni.com.

Here's what I remember. My Sis being generous and buying nice things for Mom that we would all chip in on a little--like a mother's ring with our four birthstones. [I don't know where that went, come to think of it.] Dad giving me some money to get Mom something and me picking out a gift that was youngish, I guess, like a patterned peach shirt from the Florence Shop in Bergenfield. Do you really think I would wear that? my Mom said to me privately later. She was probably mad at Dad for not picking something out himself. Guess I would be mad in her shoes, too. But I was a teen and she was in her 50s. I did the best I could--I think.

What I hope I will remember from today: The painting Figgy did for me, called "Mother." On the right, it shows a pregnant woman and on the left, a woman holding a baby. In between, a big flower with many petals. And I really like what both she and H. wrote on my card. Also: eggs for breakfast, dinner out, a hanging plant and a walk.

I liked what the priest said at Mass today. He asked us to pray for the mothers among us, and the women battling infertility, and the pregnant ones afraid of being mothers, and the people without mothers. Then he also asked us to pray for the women who don't have their own children but are present for other people's children. I really like that. Because as life moves on, I realize that it's not just my mother and then Dad who mothered me, but also other women who have been present for me, whether they had their own children or not. And I sure have realized how it's not just me who mothers Figgy, though I have worked hard at it and been honored to have the chance. She is also brought up and inspired and shaped and loved by other women who care about her well-being--whether they cross her path once in a dark moment or many times over.

Happy Mother's Day. Good night, sweet dreams.

TCOY

1. Shower with Caress [the peach-colored soap].
2. Mass--3:30 in Mountainside Hospital auditorium.
3. Walk with Fig in day and to Iris Gardens with H. and Sug. What gorgeous, ruffly, frilly flowers, in every color from lavender to sunny yellow to inky black.
4. Watched 2-hour series finale of "Desperate Housewives" with Fig.