Sunday, May 11, 2008

• This is the first Mother's Day....

  This year, Mother's day is different.  It's the first since I found out my Mom had THREE girls, not two! 
  
  If you missed the excitement last month, my Mom finally got in touch with the girl she gave up almost 50 years ago, and shared her excitement with me and my sister, Dee.  We have been thrilled to be a part of getting to know our new sibling.  It could be a TV series:  Suddenly Sisters! 
  
  Every year, I realize more and more how amazing is this person who I used to think of as only my Mom.  When she was here last, and we were running all over town trying to get through our ambitious to-do list, and I was on the verge of exhaustion and Mom was still ready to go.  I think I nearly stripped the gears in my brain when I realized I had to shift my habit of thinking of getting Mom in shape to this:  She is 70 years old and has a knee injury and is running circles around me! 
  
  I know some of my best qualities have come from her:  resourceful, determined with a never-say-never attitude that has brought me success in almost everything I've done.  Like her, I moved up in nearly every job I ever held. When times changed, and it became harder to have the success you could once in business without a degree, I went back to school and graduated a month before my 40th birthday.  I hoped I was an example to my boys as she was to me, doing homework alongside them at the dining room table at night, sharing my enthusiasm for learning.  Mom is a lifelong learner, and amazes me at her knowledge of botany, history, politics, technology, and art.  She is always willing to try new things, and is more adept at using the computer and internet than many students I've taught.  It's been most exciting to me to see her develop her gift as an artist. 
  
  When I was little, I used to save the scraps of paper she'd doodle on while she talked on the phone.  One year I impulsively bought her a set of pastels and art paper for a birthday gift, not knowing what else to get her, and wondering what she'd do with it.  Within days, the most beautiful pictures of cats --a long-haired domestic car, and a lion--came into focus under the blur of her moving hands.  I could watch her all night.  It wasn't until she retired and moved to San Diego that she devoted the time and energy to her talent.  Her specialty is my favorite medium:  watercolor.  Go check out some of her work:  www.xanga.com/DancingBrush
  
  I thought I knew everything there was to know about my Mom, but she surprises me still.  The only thing I do know is that what I know of her is only one facet in a very complicated, shining, sparkling gem. 
  
  I love you, Mom.
  
  Happy Mother's Day. 
  
  
  

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