5. Nothing makes you laugh harder than causing a fun disturbance in public. You will proudly warble like a loon, cackle like a witch, or order ice cream sundaes “with balls and nuts” at the McDonald’s drive-thru. At some point, this habit embarrassed all four of us kids (and probably your husband), but I’m betting that no one got more mortified than Mark.
4. Another public disturbance: The Re-birth at Good Samaritan Hospital.
3. You are, hands down, the best listener I know. As a mother, you had/have an uncanny ability to do five things at once and still be completely locked in on a conversation. As a friend, many, many people have come to you in their hard times because of this.
2. You are a dreamer, and you put aside many of your own dreams to raise a family. But now that you actually have time to yourself, you have pursued your dream to write.
1. You choose to live for today rather than worrying needlessly about the future or dwelling nostalgically on the past. I’m sure that’s not nearly as easy as you make it look, especially when three of your kids live in different states.
There. Next time you tell me to blog more often, you better be careful what you wish for. Happy Mother's Day!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Fifty Memories for Mom - Nos. 6-10
10. You have always found a graceful, healthy balance in supporting your kids without smothering them.
9. When you and Dad visited me in San Diego, your left cheek and eye were swollen to the size of a baseball after a bee sting! Truly an alarming sight. Of course, you handled it with your trademark good humor.
8. You accompanied me on several shopping trips as I packed for Taylor. I wonder how many of those 7,000 items on the packing list I actually used.
7. Your homemade popsicles formed in those little plastic trays.
6. As the years go on and we’re separated by distance, our time together only gets more precious. I will always cherish your and Dad’s visit to Florida last fall, and I learned so much about where you both came from. Doubling up on John G’s on that final day didn’t hurt, either.
9. When you and Dad visited me in San Diego, your left cheek and eye were swollen to the size of a baseball after a bee sting! Truly an alarming sight. Of course, you handled it with your trademark good humor.
8. You accompanied me on several shopping trips as I packed for Taylor. I wonder how many of those 7,000 items on the packing list I actually used.
7. Your homemade popsicles formed in those little plastic trays.
6. As the years go on and we’re separated by distance, our time together only gets more precious. I will always cherish your and Dad’s visit to Florida last fall, and I learned so much about where you both came from. Doubling up on John G’s on that final day didn’t hurt, either.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Fifty Memories for Mom - Nos. 11-15
15. Your saintly reactions after receiving dozens of bad gifts from me (and occasionally my sibs) for Christmas, birthdays and Mother’s Days. How did you manage to keep your composure when you received a Victoria’s Secret gift card from one unnamed teenaged son?
14. You’ve sent me care packages at probably every single stop in my nomadic life, filled with granola and oddball newspaper headlines that only I would appreciate.
13. You have embraced your two daughters-in-law, Jenny and Jill, wholeheartedly. Much in the way you have been embraced by Grandma Haller and Gramma Pat.
12. Remember Roundy’s? You can stretch a dollar with the best of ’em. And you passed your penny-pinching genes (and then some) on to me.
11. You wedged the caravan into the garage despite our family Christmas tree being strapped to the top! Then, I remember you cackling wildly as you watched us try to fix it.
14. You’ve sent me care packages at probably every single stop in my nomadic life, filled with granola and oddball newspaper headlines that only I would appreciate.
13. You have embraced your two daughters-in-law, Jenny and Jill, wholeheartedly. Much in the way you have been embraced by Grandma Haller and Gramma Pat.
12. Remember Roundy’s? You can stretch a dollar with the best of ’em. And you passed your penny-pinching genes (and then some) on to me.
11. You wedged the caravan into the garage despite our family Christmas tree being strapped to the top! Then, I remember you cackling wildly as you watched us try to fix it.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Fifty Memories for Mom - Nos. 16-20
20. Secret fast-food stops on the way home from shopping trips.
19. You were the most kind, caring person in the world when one of your brood was laid up with sickness, recovering from surgery, etc. There’s no cure quite like your saltines, 7-Up, and a damp cloth on the forehead.
18. Trips to the pool during the summer with a trunkload of towels, snacks, drinks and pool toys. I still say the best times took place at Riverside.
17. You have always been a compassionate neighbor. I have never seen a neighborhood that was as friendly as our block on Rutherford Ave., and you played an enormous role in building that unity. Maybe that was common stuff back in the 1950s, but it's not today.
16. You love a good surprise. On one of my surprise visits during college, I climbed the basement stairs to reveal myself. Standing there alone in the kitchen, you looked up at me with the most bizarre, spooked expression, and screamed as if Abe Lincoln himself had just emerged from your basement.
19. You were the most kind, caring person in the world when one of your brood was laid up with sickness, recovering from surgery, etc. There’s no cure quite like your saltines, 7-Up, and a damp cloth on the forehead.
18. Trips to the pool during the summer with a trunkload of towels, snacks, drinks and pool toys. I still say the best times took place at Riverside.
17. You have always been a compassionate neighbor. I have never seen a neighborhood that was as friendly as our block on Rutherford Ave., and you played an enormous role in building that unity. Maybe that was common stuff back in the 1950s, but it's not today.
16. You love a good surprise. On one of my surprise visits during college, I climbed the basement stairs to reveal myself. Standing there alone in the kitchen, you looked up at me with the most bizarre, spooked expression, and screamed as if Abe Lincoln himself had just emerged from your basement.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Fifty Memories for Mom - Nos. 21-25
25. When we were leaving the house for Dan and Jenny’s wedding, amid all the hustle and bustle, you gathered us as a family by the front door to pray together. Powerful stuff.
24. Being denied sugary cereals, e.g. Trix, Froot Loops and Cocoa Puffs, for many years. Is it just me or did you eventually concede this battle? For example …
23. For birthday slumber parties you’d treat us to waffles with ice cream and strawberries for breakfast.
22. You have never, and will never, dye your hair. Nothing but respect.
21. Every once in a while, you would flag down the school bus in front of the house once it circled “the loop” if I left my lunch at home. Seriously, Mom, would it have killed me to go hungry for eight hours?
24. Being denied sugary cereals, e.g. Trix, Froot Loops and Cocoa Puffs, for many years. Is it just me or did you eventually concede this battle? For example …
23. For birthday slumber parties you’d treat us to waffles with ice cream and strawberries for breakfast.
22. You have never, and will never, dye your hair. Nothing but respect.
21. Every once in a while, you would flag down the school bus in front of the house once it circled “the loop” if I left my lunch at home. Seriously, Mom, would it have killed me to go hungry for eight hours?
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Fifty Memories for Mom - Nos. 26-30
30. Staying up late with you, especially in my college years, watching murder mysteries. (If I was lucky. If not, you and Katie had already flipped to What Not to Wear re-runs.) You are hilarious when you fall asleep on the couch.
29. You and Peg Swearingen led the kids’ Sunday School at DCC for a several years. No idea how you found the time for that.
28. You staged four graduation parties and (wisely) recruited help from neighbors for each one.
27. How many boxes of Girl Scout Cookies have you moved in your lifetime? It’s got to be at least five figures.
26. I remember how angry you were at me for ruining your 20th anniversary at a KOA out West. I’ll spare the Internet of the, um, juicy details, but your anger was completely justified.
29. You and Peg Swearingen led the kids’ Sunday School at DCC for a several years. No idea how you found the time for that.
28. You staged four graduation parties and (wisely) recruited help from neighbors for each one.
27. How many boxes of Girl Scout Cookies have you moved in your lifetime? It’s got to be at least five figures.
26. I remember how angry you were at me for ruining your 20th anniversary at a KOA out West. I’ll spare the Internet of the, um, juicy details, but your anger was completely justified.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Fifty Memories for Mom - Nos. 31-35
35. You brewed your unsweetened iced tea out on the sidewalk whenever it was sunny.
34. We all loved Fireside Inn, but I don’t think anyone could appreciate it quite like you did. For one week a year, you finally got to rest. You always packed a thick stack of books and a huge basket of snacks to hold us over from breakfast to dinner.
33. Your visit during the World Series, and the hijinks that ensued between you and Beth Hudson. (You two are completely insane together—and I mean that in the nicest way possible.) The greasy-spoon breakfast was one highlight of that trip.
32. On trips to the grocery store when we were young and cranky, you'd send us on missions to find this or that. Genius. And guess what? We never got kidnapped.
31. From age 28 to 53—a quarter century!—your life revolved around raising your four kids to love Jesus and love others.
34. We all loved Fireside Inn, but I don’t think anyone could appreciate it quite like you did. For one week a year, you finally got to rest. You always packed a thick stack of books and a huge basket of snacks to hold us over from breakfast to dinner.
33. Your visit during the World Series, and the hijinks that ensued between you and Beth Hudson. (You two are completely insane together—and I mean that in the nicest way possible.) The greasy-spoon breakfast was one highlight of that trip.
32. On trips to the grocery store when we were young and cranky, you'd send us on missions to find this or that. Genius. And guess what? We never got kidnapped.
31. From age 28 to 53—a quarter century!—your life revolved around raising your four kids to love Jesus and love others.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Fifty Memories for Mom - Nos. 36-40
40. You smoked us out of the house with a burned, charred-solid turkey. You were a little flustered when you picked me up from middle school that afternoon, and I could sense right away that something was a bit off. Most likely, I was tipped off by the plume of smoke trailing you from the minivan into the building.
39. Your countless hours in the kitchen. I could make another list of your top 50 kitchen creations, topped by your legendary homemade granola. (The turkey a la carbon wouldn’t make the cut.)
38. You let us sign up for two days per week to buy lunch at school. The other three days, we packed. To this day I still place a high value on a well-packed lunch and remember the little notes you would sneak into our bags.
37. Having snacks ready for us when we got home from school. At least until we were old enough to raid the fridge on our own. Oh, and the flip-n-sip water bottles you stashed in the fridge door. “Refill your water bottle!”
36. With you riding shotgun and ABBA blaring, I got pulled over by a trooper on a country road in Michigan for going way too fast. (I think you secretly enjoyed it.)
39. Your countless hours in the kitchen. I could make another list of your top 50 kitchen creations, topped by your legendary homemade granola. (The turkey a la carbon wouldn’t make the cut.)
38. You let us sign up for two days per week to buy lunch at school. The other three days, we packed. To this day I still place a high value on a well-packed lunch and remember the little notes you would sneak into our bags.
37. Having snacks ready for us when we got home from school. At least until we were old enough to raid the fridge on our own. Oh, and the flip-n-sip water bottles you stashed in the fridge door. “Refill your water bottle!”
36. With you riding shotgun and ABBA blaring, I got pulled over by a trooper on a country road in Michigan for going way too fast. (I think you secretly enjoyed it.)
Monday, May 10, 2010
Fifty Memories for Mom - Nos. 41-45
45. With the possible exception of Dan's drum set, you always encouraged the four of us to play music in the house. For a while, even you took piano lessons.
44. You always taught us to think for ourselves and to never compare ourselves to others. You had no patience for cries of “Everyone else is doing it!”
43. You always have some home-improvement or painting project going at home or at the cabin. The image that has stuck with me is you painting the guest house wearing the “Tough Old Bird” T-shirt.
42. You made five different types of macaroni and cheese for my taste-test science project in eighth grade. Not to mention the half-dozen Science Fairs you endured.
41. The mythical deer on April Fools’ Day. “There’s a deer in the front yard!” you hollered, and all four kids scrambled to the door. “It just went around to the back!” And we ran circles around the house until you cackled. You were really proud of yourself.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Fifty Memories for Mom - Nos. 46-50
Happy Mother's Day, Mom! In your honor, over the next 10 days, I am counting down my top 50 memories of you through the years. Hope you enjoy them.
50. You gave each of your four kids a plot of land in the backyard as our own gardens. A very shrewd move—it kept us occupied; kept us outside; filled up garden space with minimal effort on your part; and even put vegetables on the table!
49. Hot cocoa breaks for us and the neighbor kids on snow days. What a cool mom.
48. Brisk morning walks around the neighborhood with you, Dad, me and the dog, and doing the same at the cabin.
47. Your taxi service anywhere and anytime—especially for my early-morning baseball workouts in high school. Of course, those same workouts compelled(?) you to take over my morning paper route, and on one icy morning you slipped and broke your arm while I ran wind sprints in a sweaty gym.
46. Your relentless teasing after my “Meijer Turn.” I took it gladly, because you could have teased me over far worse things than that. Also, we could have been killed.
50. You gave each of your four kids a plot of land in the backyard as our own gardens. A very shrewd move—it kept us occupied; kept us outside; filled up garden space with minimal effort on your part; and even put vegetables on the table!
49. Hot cocoa breaks for us and the neighbor kids on snow days. What a cool mom.
48. Brisk morning walks around the neighborhood with you, Dad, me and the dog, and doing the same at the cabin.
47. Your taxi service anywhere and anytime—especially for my early-morning baseball workouts in high school. Of course, those same workouts compelled(?) you to take over my morning paper route, and on one icy morning you slipped and broke your arm while I ran wind sprints in a sweaty gym.
46. Your relentless teasing after my “Meijer Turn.” I took it gladly, because you could have teased me over far worse things than that. Also, we could have been killed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
