Anything more elastic than Mom love?
Any month nicer than May?
May: Spring in full springosity, the perfect backdrop to celebrate Mothers, who give their lives to make ours better.
Doing their Mom jobs without complaint – – a single day not nearly enough recognition for their sacrifice.
But at least for a day, we stop taking them for granted.
Though My Captor had a plan for that: Spending occasional weekends away to remind of all she did for us, eventually to include Mother’s Days weekend trips – who needs children to celebrate Motherhood?
And she’d redeem her “This card good for 25 hugs” cards upon her return – though they’re proving less heart warming now that the kids are 30+.
All that aside, if you know what’s good for you, you’d better make today count…
Mothers the thread holding civilization together:
I lived all my Mother did for me, and her influence on my me-ness – – an inspiration to pay it forward.
I live watching all My Captor did/does for our children, and her imprint on their lives. And on her grandkid’s lives, she a truly fine Queenie.
And I’m now watching our children Mother like their Mother, likely hearing a voice in their head “I’m turning out just like Mom”, which every generation says will never happen – but grateful when it does.
Today a good day to ponder: Is raising children the most hopelessly complicated human pursuit?
Or deceptively simple?
Fortunately, child rearing a 2 person job, each parent bringing their relative strengths:
Mothers – unconditional love/unflagging support/timely encouragement, Fathers – cluelessness/the ability to grill in a group/command of the TV remote.
And different job expectations:
Mothers earning a ‘Meets Expectations’ by juggling child care, work, school, meal prep, book club – fill in what I’ve missed.
Fathers earning ‘Exceeds Expectations’ by taking the kids shopping – amazing onlookers: “You’ve got your hands full!”
And while libraries are full of self-help books with life advice, we need only emulate Mothers as our guide…
Ever know a better listener than Mom? Listening the most under-utilized skill, but no matter your age or problems – Little kids, little problems, Big kids, big problems – Mom was always there as an empathetic ear.
But I do like Dad’s solution to Big Kid problems: How about a beer?
Ever know a better pick-me-upper? Didn’t Mom always make you feel better?
But I did like Dad’s solution: How about a beer?
And UPS – definitely NOT the USPS – got nothin’ on Mom’s logistic skills, having to juggle multiple kid activities, while making sure the family’s fed, their shots current, and helping Dad find the remote.
But Dad not too shabby at logistics: Let’s go out for dinner, I know a new restaurant with IPA on tap.
And if we’d listened harder to ‘Mom’s wisdom’, today’s misinformation problems would be solved:
“Do you know how lucky you are?”
“With gratitude, optimism is sustainable” (a Michael J. Fox line I’m sure he heard from his Mother).
“Treat others the way you want to be treated”
“Put your damn phone down and have a conversation”
“To have a friend, be a friend”
“You’re amazing – do you know how much I love you?”
“Everything in moderation”
“Keep a blanket and snack in the car – there won’t be enough charging stations!”
But there was definitely Mom ‘advice’ you’d better ignore: “I don’t really need any gifts. Maybe just a card.”
So today we pause to honor Mom, and offer our annual expression of her amazingness: Doing God’s work!
But Moms definitely wise enough to know today is a feeble – yet genuine – effort to offer proper thanks for all they do.
And love us for it anyway…
For 227 more posts like this –each with a wish for Mom to have a relaxing day– go to beersatthenifty.com. Your phone will display every post, and you can waste an hour or two.
Or send me an email to the site, and I’ll add you to my Sunday distribution.
And I’m now on Substack at justluckytobehere.substack.com. Same stuff, but a different location.
ENHANCE YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THIS POST, PAIR IT WITH THE FOLLOWING ‘AGING HIPSTER MUSIC’:
‘Silk Degrees’ by Boz Scaggs was a huge hit my senior year of college, and one of my favorite memories of my Mother is her dancing with her grandchildren to songs from that album, particularly Lowdown. If you haven’t heard it lately – or ever – it has held up beautifully and a great listen.
Boz’s career spans 1966 to the present, his early stuff the ‘White Soul’ sound from Muscle Shoals to the blues influenced music of today. But as I scrolled through his catalog I was reminded how much great music he has produced – which is reflected in a bunch of saves to the BATN playlist: ‘What can I say’, ‘Lowdown’, ‘Love Me tomorrow’, ‘1993’ ‘Dinah Flo’ ‘You make it so hard, to say no’, ‘Sierra’ and ‘Loan Me a Dime’ which features some of Duane Allman’s best work.