My mom is one of the most inspiring people I know. Growing up she taught me the value of hard work, perseverance, loyalty and truth. She shared knowledge gleaned through life experience: from housework to painting on a construction site; from raising animals on the farm to raising children with love; from gardening and preserving to mending a sock. If she did it, we all benefited by learning alongside her.
Always I remember her sharing stories while we worked side-by-side. They were tales of children from a different time in a world that seemed a storybook of characters and places and events played out in my imagination. They were shared so often my childhood memories are intertwined with her stories. Some I remember as clearly as though they are part of my story. It is a legacy I value tremendously.
Being an adult child now affords me the clarity to appreciate what she has taught me by both word and example. She still shares. I hope she never stops sharing so that my children can enjoy the same legacy of knowledge she holds.
But this past year has been hard for her physically. She was sick for months and when that began to clear up, her arthritic knees continued to deteriorate at a rapid rate. In early September she had a bilateral knee replacement. This last month of recovery from that surgery has continued to take a toll on her and she continues to need support with anything that is still beyond her ability.
She was feeling a little more like herself today for the first time in a really long time. She wasn't dealing with pain and making concentrated efforts at moving herself carefully. She wasn't sleepy from medication or physical exertion. She was almost just my mom. She sat at the kitchen table that has always been an integral part of our time together and asked if I could set her up to cut the apples for applesauce. YES!
It was in that moment, while I watched her work at her place at that table as she has done countless times before, when I felt I could breathe easily once again.
Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series: Simple Gems
Click here to see the rest of my Write 31 Days series: Simple Gems
Wishing her continued healing and you more room to breath into your passions :)
ReplyDeleteI think the challenge of finding time has been good for me. With Write 31 Days coming during this time crunch of spending more time with my mom helping her, it's forced me to decide just how important writing is to me. If I want to write, I have to make the time.
Delete