In honor of Mother's Day, I thought it would be nice to post about nice memories with our mothers.
My mother was abusive and we had a very acrimonious relationship for years. It took years of therapy and maturing for me to forgive my mom and realize that she is only a woman with her own flaws. She did what she knew best and I know that she had great intentions. My mother just lacked the self awareness to break away from what she was taught by her own parents.
I forgive my mom not for her, but for myself. I need to move on and enjoy my life, not mourn my childhood forever.
One of my favorite memories with my mom is the way she read stories to me a child. This lady could have worked for Disney, with all of her voices and flair for the dramatic. My mom never rushed story time.
Another great memory is how compassionate she was when I broke up with my first boyfriend. I was 18 and the day after the breakup was Valentine's Day. I stayed home and wrote her a note about why I skipped school. My mother did not rip my head off-she was very understanding.
I suffer from a health problem which has a terrible stigma. For years, I chose awful men because I thought nobody decent would want me with my illness. My momma told me never to think that I deserve less because of my sickness. She was right.
It feels wonderful to think positively. What good things do you remember about your mother?
Mom had her share of awful men, and her evenings when my brother and I had gone to bed were spent drinking and coping with them. consequently she slept late and Our mornings were spent waiting for her to wake up, often missing school. However she used to create us our own homemade crosswords to complete, set us homework and make us porridge with fruit in to get on with until she got up.Set out our clothes, write us stories herself etc.
She is now my best friend, but struggled as a mum.I ended up in care and she ended up at rock bottom.But even then, the little things she did still spring tears to my eyes. Without 2 cents to rub together she still managed to bring me books she knew I would like, things for my hair and loves and kisses. Only now as an adult do i realised the hell she must have been experiencing at the time.
One thing I will never forgive myself for. I had borrowed a book from a social worker and while reading it in the bath.. I dropped it in. I was in a panic about replacing it ( I was 14!) So I rang mum and asked her for £6 to do so, she sent me a £6 postal order to replace it without question..and i lost it years later I realised that must have been over half of what she had to survive on that week and ive never forgiven myself
I was in care, I experience along with my mum lots a shouldn't have, seen and heard things I shouldn't have, but my mum is beautiful, dynamic, intelligent, highly strung and neurotic. My Brother hates her, I as her little girl still ( at 29 ) would not swap her for the world.
With my own future children I will endeavour to never make the mistakes she did, but I will also take from her the love she showed us in the face of such adversity.
My favorite memories with my mom have been when it's just her and I. She gets slight anxiety about doing new things or going certain places but when she can overcome that and allow herself to give in to the experience, we have always had the best times.
One memory was when I wanted to take a short course in the country. I thought it would be a good excuse for us to spend time away together and knew she would love the landscape, and suggested she come. It was only a few hours drive from home but I knew that would cause her some anxiety. She said yes and we had a great time. I booked us into a beautiful cottage accommodation. We went to the course together during the day, then we enjoyed cups of tea on the verandah surrounded by country garden. We chatted and laughed over those few days. She remembers at night when we heard a noise outside our cabin. We both got slightly nervous but she laughs in retelling the story how I suddenly sprung out of my room and loudly declared "RIGHT, THAT'S IT!!" and turned on all the lights outside and put my tough voice on lol. In the end, we think it was probably just a possum. I'm tough like that. Yeah, that's right possums! I love that it still brings a giggle to her when she thinks of it.
Another great memory was when we spent the day in the city exploring the art gallerys. We aren't connoisseurs by any means but there was a Monet exhibition happening and she loves Monet... so we went for a day out. I loved seeing her filled with joy and passion as she walked around the exhibition, grabbing my arm from time to time and declaring "Oh LOOK!" at the huge masterpieces before us. I gained an appreciation that day, for both Monet and how much she loves art.
I love that she loves the dollar store. She lives in a different state but if we're visiting and end up near shops/mall, she will always drag me into the dollar store. I will go in begrudgingly and then end up running down the aisle to find her, wearing a feather boas, princess crown and whatever else I have managed to find. She always says "See? This is why I love the dollar store!" then I realize it's when I behave like that that she might sometimes have trouble recognizing that I'm actually in my 30's.
But I guess the most precious times have been when she has reminded me how strong and loved I am, particularly when I have been at my lowest. How she always supports and believes in me. And how she has the ability to call me on my bullsh*t when needed too.
Reading Coffee Amore's sentiment of being proud of her mother, made me think further. Mine has recently started painting. She's always had a creative side but rarely truly let it shine. She paints quite a lot now and I love seeing what she has created. I am proud of her. I am proud that she has learned to channel her energy into something positive. She sends photos of what she has painted and that fills me with joy.
I have experienced her in her darkest moments, and while her paintings began with a darker expression, it is wonderful to see how they have evolved to brightness.
My mom was a simple, loving Christian Southern woman who was brought up in the country and never lost her mantra as a country girl. She never knew a stanger and would give anyone the literal shirt off her back or the last morsel of food she had if they could demonstrate to her satisfaction that they needed it worse than she or her family did.
She gave birth to six of us; all boys! I was No. 6, some 12 years after my kid brother had made landfall. Mom had wanted a girl so very much that she fixated on me as being that answer to her prayer. But I'm told that she was not disappointed at my birth. But in one of my baby pics, she had the photographer tie a pink ribbon in my blonde locks. Many years later, that photo came back to haunt me as friends and co-workers at the Treasury Dept. photocopied and posted it all over the Federal Building where I worked.
If I ever brought guests to their home, I was fully expected to provide her with as ample notice as possible. And that was because she always put forth a 7-course dinner no matter what time of day you came sauntering in. If you went away hungry from her table, well, it was just your own dang fault.
And if you came from a non-hugging environment, then that was just too damn bad because she hugged everybody~ rich or poor, the were no racial barriers or special qualifications required by her.
In 2001, at the ripe old age of 91, her physical heart finally played out; but the love she so expounded on all who came to know her still is at heart in the peoples lives that God had her touch!
Happy Mothers Day, Mom! Still thinkin' of you! And yes, Dear, your Grandson's, while much larger now, are both doin' fine and miss you every bit as much as their Dad does!!
Although my Mom was pretty much out of my life by the time I was 11, I have very wonderful memories of my childhood...me & her.... I recall that warm loving feeling of her being my Bestest friend in this whole wide world... we would make cookies together..we laughed alot... I loved her tuna noodle casserole... funny the things we recall.
She loved the winter, always building snow men with me, her specialty was IGLOOS, and we always had to get some Cat tails to put in the bottom for our cat named "Tiger Paws".. . She let me get hamsters when I wanted them. I remember them getting lost in the house, that was a crazy time....one of them ate it's own tail, they were SICK little creatures!
She would take me ice skating, I remember Sled riding at the neighbors ,they had a monster hill... that climb back was not much fun at all. She would always allow me to bring a friend when she took me swimming at the pool. She would do anything for me.
She always went out of her way to throw me the biggest Birthday parties, confetti and games- pin the tail on the donkey... they were always a hit, I remember her taking me shopping to get an Easter Dress every year.
She always loved dancing, so she tried to get me into that, though it was not my thing.. I know I made her proud when she saw me on stage doing my tapping all dolled up in my pretty dress...though I hated it ! She eventually realized that was not what I was into.
My Mother was very easy, not a disciplinarian near at all, she'd let me say anything, do near anything. I got a little WILD after her & my dad divorced -living alone with her, heck I thought I was BOSS!! I really needed by butt spanked.
After that ...she moved to another state with a new husband.. And well.. My mom was gone...only letters between us , and seeing her about once a year, I remember how exhilerating that was -... I had new mentors in my life then....but I am thankful for the 1st 10 yrs.... us being as close as we were. It is good to have warm memories, I always knew she loved me.
I am the middle child of 12... and my mom died when I was 10. I didn't have enough time with her...but I am fortunate that I had more time than my younger siblings did.
Things I remember...
She sang "Good Morning Merry Sunshine" when she woke us up in the mornings.
She worked for "Toys Around the World" to make sure we all had a good Christmas...and we did.
She loved Halloween, and there was an awesome "Halloween Box" full of homemade costumes.
We celebrated EVERY holiday.
We went on summer vacation to "the lake" every year...can you imagine taking all those kids? And she taught us all the car-singing songs....and some raunchy ones.
She taught us how to play cards, Rummy, Gin, poker, solitaire...
EVERYTHING was green on St Patty's Day...
April Fool's Day was exciting, because you never knew what to expect!
She made little individual pot pies for all of us.
She taught me how to pray with a rosary....
She told me a secret... that she was having a baby (#12) ...lol, big surprize right? But hey, I was 9. She said she was going to name the baby Clementine... I was so sad for that baby. She named her Eileen... my favorite sister! (We called her Spot)
Everybody's birthday was a special occasion!
She taught us how to paper-mache' and how to tye-dye, and how to strip furniture and how to draw and how to sew and how to cook, and and and....
She made chore charts and had us doing calistenics (or however you spell that) like a little boot camp...but we were kids, we liked it.
We had sleep-overs, and camp outs, and went to the drive in theater.... we had puppies (she was afraid of cats) and fish and turtles...
She let us stay up past bed time if we were in the middle of a scary movie, because she knew that the good guys would win at the end and we wouldn't be too scared. I love that.
It's amazing how much stuff she did for me in 10 short years.
SunnyT ...your post made me cry.. that was alot of love... those are the most important years in a child's life....your Mom would be so blessed if she could read your words here... someday.
My mom did some crazy stuff, not sure what she was thinking.. but she took me to see the Exorcist when I was like 9 or 10 ....we did the drive in theater too, she must have taken me to see Rocky like 4 times, really had a thing for Sylvester back then.
There is not much I can actively remember along the lines of cute happy memories, due much in part to the horrid relationships I watched my mom go through.
That being said, I wouldn't hesitate to murder for my mom. She went through a lot, and worked insanely hard to get to where she is today, and to get us through without lacking anything. I actually spent a lot of my childhood being her best friend and shoulder to cry on when she needed it, because she really had no one else. I've always been her partner, even at the youngest age I can remember.
BUT there was this one christmas, 2 or 3 years ago. I was out christmas shopping, had already bought her gift, and saw this giant classroom sized childrens book called "Corduroy"..This is the one book I remember my mom reading to me OVER and OVER and OVER. I bought it. wrote a note saying how I remembered her reading it to me as a child all those times..I can not even describe the sobbing. (she's emotional)
So I guess that is probably my favorite memory with her, the story books. That, and the day after she left my step dad, and my real mom re-appeared. It was like a long awaited reunion with a lost family member. Because she really is an amazing person, even if she drives me up a wall.
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Good Mom Memories? 
Re: Good Mom Memories? 
years later I realised that must have been over half of what she had to survive on that week and ive never forgiven myself 
I love that it still brings a giggle to her when she thinks of it.
