Month: May 2015

Mother’s Day 2015

1st row Kathleen Holdaway, Ellie Blizzard,Johnny Bell2nd John a0002        Kathleen Holdaway in flowered dress0002 parents wedding pic

mother  Mother in her yard

 

surprise

As a Mother’s Day tribute, I am printing pictures made over the course of Mother’s life.  She is the tiny blonde child in the oldest picture and the lovely woman easily identifiable in the rest.  I can only say she is the finest woman and the best mother I have ever known.  I love you Mother.

 

 

The Things We Do For Our Kids! Guest Post By Cordelia’s Mom

Cordelia CardI am so proud to that Cordelia’s Mom did this Guest Post for Mother’s Day.  Please check out her lovely blog.  You will love it as well.

It was the mid-1950’s.  I was in first grade.

Mother’s Day was approaching, and my teacher decided to have us all make noodle necklaces for our moms.  She brought in a variety of dry noodles, along with string and water paints – and wrapping paper.  I was so proud of my creation!  Mom was going to love  it!

On Mother’s Day, I watched my mother open her precious gift. She oohed and aahed, and put the necklace around her neck.  I was so happy to see her wear it that day – I thought it was the most beautiful jewelry she ever had.

My mother didn’t work (back then, few did). Her only recreation was going bowling once a week in a league with other mothers.

Her annual bowling banquet was the week after Mother’s Day.  I watched my mother dress in her most beautiful (to me) outfit, high heels and all.  As she started to reach toward her jewelry chest, I told her she should wear the necklace I made because it was better than anything she had in that jewelry chest.  And she put that necklace on and left the house for her banquet.  I was so proud!

Fast forward approximately 25 years.  I was now a young mother whose girls often brought me hand made gifts.  One Sunday, I was visiting Mom, and we got to discussing little girls and how to raise them.  The subject of the noodle necklace came up.  I chuckled and told Mom that I was sorry I made her wear that necklace to her banquet, and that I now understood that she probably took it off as soon as she was out of eyesight.

There was a silence as my mother thought fondly back to that day.  Then, she told me:

“No, I didn’t.  I wore it all evening and told all the other mothers that my little girl made it for me.”

And that’s how I learned to be a mother. Mom was tough when it was called for, but she loved her kids and made sure that we all knew that.

Mom once read about a father who told his child, “You are my favorite, but don’t tell your brothers and sisters because it would hurt their feelings.”  After the old man died, the kids were comparing notes and discovered that he had made that statement to each and every one of them.  Mom thought that was a wonderful way to make a child feel special – and while neither she nor I ever tried it with our own kids, we both understood the philosophy behind it, and tried to love each child in the way that child needed to be loved.  I know she succeeded; I hope I did, too.

Happy Mother’s Day!  If you have children, give them hugs from me.  If your mother is still alive, give her a kiss on her aging cheek.  And if you are a mother, may you be showered hugs, kisses and homemade gifts from your own children.

Thanks, Linda, for allowing me to guest post for you today.  I will hold you to your promise to reciprocate on my blog!

I love to hear from my readers.  You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com.

Image by Cordelia’s Mom

Girl’s Night Out

Bill 2image imageimage I am very fortunate to come from a close family with three sisters and one brother.  The girls get together periodically for a girl’s night out.  For some reason, my brother, bows out on our girl’s night out.  We gathered this time in honor of Mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day.  In the second picture back left is me , 2nd daughter, back right, Phyllis eldest daughter, bottom left Mother, bottom center, Connie 4th daughter, bottom right Marilyn the youngest. In the third picture, Mother is reacting to being kissed by Marilyn’s little dog.My brother Bill is pictured with my Mother in the top picture. In the fourth picture, a dear family friend, Elaine, joins us.  We had a wonderful night, laughed till we were exhausted, and enjoyed every minute together.

Free-For-All Friday: #9

Reblogged from Edwina’s Episodes. Thanks so much!

Judy E Martin's avatarEdwina's Episodes

It’s Friday already. which means that it is time for me to share some more wonderful posts with you that I have discovered over the last week. I have tried to choose a variety of posts from all types of blogs. It goes without saying, that all of them are worth checking out.

Nutsrok Linda never fails to amaze me with stories about her crazy family! The fact that she is such a brilliant story-teller and is so funny as well, really adds to my enjoyment.

Vashti Quiroz-Vega This post caught my eye as I am really getting into Haiku writing, and I thought both of these offerings were brilliant in totally different ways.

Homemade Naturally Now although I like  to have a go at sewing from time to time, I am not that good. However, I saw this, and loved it, and am actually tempted to have a go…

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Stone Patio

imageBud and I built this stone patio in our backyard in front of an old arbor.  I have red and yellow climbing roses and purple clematis planted on the arbor.  A plantation bell stands at the end of the arbor.  A fire pit sits in the center of the patio.  An old hand pump pours into the whiskey barrel fish tank.  The stone path leads back to the house.

Things Mothers Do

imageI miss all the things my mother used to do for me. Even though she had to get up to a freezing house at five-thirty in winter to do it, she always had a hot breakfast on the table when we got up, usually hot biscuits, eggs, fresh milk, homemade jam or preserves, and either grits or oatmeal.  Like most kids, I didn’t want it, but she insisted. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”  After the whirlwind of getting the older  Continue reading →

Dirty, Old Man

MegaphoneWarning:   This story may be disturbing to readers who are triggered by stories of child sexual abuse.

There was a crazy, dirty, old man in the neighborhood where I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s.  He’d lived there for years and raised a family.  No woman would walk near him. Upon moving into the neighborhood, the first thing every woman learned was to stay away from him and to warn their little girls to run if they saw him coming.  A cry would go up at his appearance and little girls from all directions literally ran home to Mama.  You can believe I was severely warned never to approach “that” house.  Thank God we have made progress in the way child molestors and sex predators are treated now.   Just think how many people this man must have harmed and lives he must have ruined.

Buzzy the Barbarian

imageMy dog Buzzy weighs twenty-five pounds.  Twenty-five nipple-stomping,bladder-compressing, and according to some sources scrotum-squashing pounds.  I don’t know how or why he does this, but if he catches one of us stretched out on the sofa, he makes a bee-line for our recumbent body, leaping on our tenderest portions joyously.  I don’t know how he’s lived this long, except that by the time we’ve recovered, he’s moved on. He looks sweet, but he’s a killer.

A Rose by any Other Name

teacherWhen the little girl started first grade, the teacher asked her name.

“Happy Butt.”

“Happy Butt. That’s not a name.  Let me check my records.”  She checked her records and came back.  “You’re name is Gladys, not Happy Butt!”

“Glad Ass, Happy Butt.  Same thing!”