The Grapevine: Life without Mothers
By Rosalyn Queen on May 06, 2014 from The Grapevine
MOTHER'S DAY! THAT SPECIAL DAY IS HERE. According to the calendar Mother's Day only comes once a year but according to my calculations it is every day. What would the world be without mothers?
Once again, according to my calculations there would be be no world. Who would teach us the basics of life? Who would teach us to love? Who would hold us tight and make us feel secure in this big world? The list goes on and on and the answer is "Our Mothers."
While cleaning out a drawer in my office last week I ran across an envelope that my sister Cathy gave me while she was cleaning out the drawers at Mom's house. In the envelope was home made Mother's Day card, a four leaf clover enclosed in plastic and a receipt from a Guy Lombardo concert.
The card was one that I had made for my mother while in the second or third grade. That would be 65 years ago. It was printed, evidently I had not learned to write yet. It was made from half sheet of construction paper folder in half again. On the front was a simple red flower that I had drawn and inside I had written "to my mother, a special flower" and signed Love Rosalyn. A very simple card but the wonderful thing is that my mother chose to keep this card. I hope that she kept it because it meant something to her. I choose to keep it because it means something to me. I cannot remember if anything accompanied the card but I think that I might have given her a hankie that I had embroidered a flower on and crocheted lace around the outer edge. I intend to frame this keepsake and hang it where I can see it every day as a reminder of my wonderful mother.
How ironic that also in the envelope was a four leaf clover. My mother was the master at finding four leaf clovers in our yard. On long, hot summer evenings she would spread out a blanket and we would sit with her on the blanket in our yard. Eventually she always came to the process of looking for a clover for my sister, Joan and me. It always amazed me at how easy she could find one, while Joan and I never ever saw a trace of one. We really attached "good luck" with the finding of a four leaf clover. And now I have, probably one of the last that she found, which I take to mean she is still wishing me good luck. It will also go in the frame with the card.
The last item in the envelope was a signed stub from a Guy Lombardo concert that was held at the Old Carmichael Auditorium. These three items defined my mother. She loved her children, she wished for good luck for all of us and she loved music. She loved to dance and if I close my eyes I can see her and daddy whirling around the dance floor at our weddings and special events. There are many other wonderful memories that I have of her, but for now I will just dwell on these and quietly thank her for having instilled with in me the right to love, to look forward to luck and the ability to appreciate good music and to dance away my fears. I often wonder if there are still four leaf clovers growing in our yards. I certainly never find them.
Some where in my office I have quite a collection of Mother's Day cards that I have received throughout the last 51 years. I hope some day that my children will enjoy going through them and reminiscing about their mother. These cards are a reminder of the times gone by. They start with their father signing for them; then they go on to their scribbles, then on to their own individual selected cards, and then the signatures contain their spouses and then their children and even their pets. As I look at them, they bring back a lot of memories. What do we have if not memories?
There is one thing that I know "for sure" and that is that each of you have a mother or perhaps a "mother figure" in your life. Remember her on this special day, vow to spend more time with her this coming year and be sure she knows just how much she means to you. As we get older time is the most precious gift we can get. We love to get the flowers, perfume and candy but there is no better gift than spending time with our children.
From my house to yours " Happy Mother's Day" to all my readers and until next week "Now You Have Heard It Through The Grapevine."
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