A Mothering Day
My mother has been deceased for nearly five years. Mother's Day for me is no longer a time of visits, gifts, cards, or flowers. It is a time a reflection, remembrance, celebration, and affirmation. It's a mothering day. This weekend in May is a time to open memory boxes, read old letters again, look at old photographs, and recall lessons learned. It's a time to cry. It's a time to smile. My mother and I led very different lives and this created a real challenge of understanding and empathy. Eventually, this breach was filled and as she approached the end of her time here, our relationship resembled the early years of my life: a time when I relied upon her to explain the world to me. Earlier this week, I told my daughter one of the jobs of a good mother (or parent) is to tell and teach a child things they need to know, but can't independently perceive or understand. Sometimes, the transmission of that knowledge is difficult or painful and creates a "bounceback ...