“Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face.” George Eliot
One dozen points of gratefulness on Mother’s Day:
1. I am grateful to have had a wonderful role model in my own mother. She was the perfect combination of unconditional love, grit, and gentleness. Devastating Dottie, I still wish you had let me have that champagne fountain at my wedding, even though the reception was in the church fellowship hall (Trusler Hall-named after your father). You won that argument for sure.
2. I am grateful for the female role models in my life who stepped up as substitutes after I was left on this earth without my mother. My grandmothers, my aunts, and my mother’s friends were all a huge part of my life from that point forward. I know I wasn’t easy. My Aunt Ginny even told me so, although she grew to love me later in life. Thank goodness for that. And, to Cora, who cared for me as a child, I am forever grateful and blessed that I can now enjoy your children and grandchildren as if they were my very own. Life does go on.
3. I am grateful to have had two wonderful nursing supervisors who mentored me as a young nurse. One had children of her own and one didn’t. Nevertheless, they pushed me when I needed it and believed that somewhere underneath the naivete’, there was potential.
4. I am grateful to have had two grandmothers who had very different personalities: one a gentle Southern woman and the other a tough no-nonsense Southern woman of steel. I hope I have inherited the best from them both. There are times when a part of each of them comes out in my personality and my husband affectionately calls me “Gladys” or “Willie.” Maybe they are my alter egos.
5. I am grateful to be the mother to three wonderful sons who are thoughtful to me every day, not just on special occasions. All I can say is… they are close to perfect.
6. I am grateful for my little sister. If you know her, you understand why.
7. I am grateful for my sisters-in-law. They have been my partners in crime as well as my sisters- in-love.
8. I am grateful that the mothers of my perfect grandchildren are exceptional women who are incredible mothers. They have also promised not to put me in a nursing home.
9. I am grateful for my female cousins. I have to mention them because we share too many secrets.
10. I am grateful for my nieces. They are the next generation of mothers. Heaven help them and God speed.
11 I am grateful for my friends who helped guide my children to reinforce the values that we shared. I know there were times when they didn’t seem so lovable, but you loved them anyway. I think we all did a pretty good job with all of our children in the end. It truly does take a village.
12. For those unmentioned women in my life, mothers or not, I am grateful that our paths have crossed.
George Eliot also said, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” #embracethebows