Motherhood...I entered the challenge at a young age.

I did not have a degree in it...... in fact, I never even went to any classes to study it.
No, I just entered it all, so inexperienced, and yet so thankful for the privilege.  I was
so blessed to have my first daughter at age twenty-three years of age.  Eight years later,
I had my second daughter, and two and half years after that, my youngest daughter
was born.

Here we are, one happy crew, having Sunday morning breakfast.  Yes, Mother
dear, I do have the ketchup container sitting on the table, in all of it's tall plastic glory.:)
But, aren't you at least a bit impressed that I made eggs for everyone?

It seems to me, that the four of us grew up together, living, learning, being stretched, and
loving together.  My husband, their father, being the only male in our family, was certainly
going through the entire process with us, only seeing it all from a totally different perspective.
He too, was learning far more than any college course could possibly have taught him. 
Even though, he grew up with two sisters, he still found living with four females a whole
new ball game.

 

When we finally reached the young adult years in their lives, life took on new direction,
and there again, we all found ourselves learning another set of lessons.

Today, I am still learning lessons in mothering, but once again, the scenery is different.
Now, I am learning just how to be a mother to son-in-laws and how to be a grandma
to the grandchildren that I have been gifted with.  One never stops learning
the role of mother, and through it all, one never stops loving.

Thankfully, I have had some of the most wonderful role models in my life.  Those who
walked the journey before me, with their own mountaintops and valleys in the
same role.  But, both my Mother and my Mother-in-law taught by their examples,
the value of serving others in life.  Both put their families first.  Both ladies never
complained through it all.  They loved, they served, they gave, and they cared for
their families, in unselfish and untiring ways.

Here is a picture of my Mother, in the all too familiar scene of being in the kitchen.
She served for years in chairing the Ladies Auxiliary at a local college, and in doing
so cooked up gallons of her wonderful chicken corn soup, and always with a warm,
gracious smile.  The kitchen was where I remember her to be, more than any other room
in our home, and it seemed to me, that she always had plenty of food on hand, no
matter who stopped in to eat.

 

My Mother-in-Law is also a dear lady with a serving heart, and she has

taught me endless lessons in serving and giving.  She too spent hours standing

over the stove, in preparing food for her family and other guests.

I watched these wonderful ladies, sometimes consciously and some-

times unconsciously, learning from their spirits, and their

giving hearts.

 

"We never know the love of a parent until we become parents

ourselves."   ~Henry Ward Beecher

 

Thank you to these two very special ladies on this Mother's Day

weekend.  Thank you for teaching us, your daughters, daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren.

 

I love you both!  I pray that my daughters will have gleaned lessons from

me, via the lessons I learned from you, and that now as they too,

are in the role of mother themselves, that they too, in their own

unique ways, will be able to lovingly teach their children, some

of the same lessons and principals that you all, shared with me.

"A mother's heart is the child's schoolroom."

~Henry Ward Beecher

 

 

 

And, for all of you in the blogging world, in whatever role you find yourselves

in today, I wish you the privilege of knowing just how important you are.

That you can somehow be reminded in your heart this weekend, that you do make a

difference to those around you.

That others are learning from your example, whether you are aware

of it or not.

Wishing you a dose of joy on this special holiday!