Mom….I Am Really Missing You Today!

Mother’s Day is just a little over a week away and I can’t help thinking about my Mom, so I am setting a Mother’s Day tablescape with a few things that remind me of her.

And as I placed a crocheted doily on the table, I started to reminisce…..

Yes, there is a story to tell.

I can remember when I would rush home from school, tears streaming down my cheeks for the comfort that only a Mother can give.

My tears could have been for any number of reasons….

 

Perhaps it was the day that I thought everyone was cuter than me.

Or the day I felt my hair was looking like a frizz of  tangled thread compared to the sleek flippy hair styles of my friends.

Perhaps it could have been the day I noticed that my friends had newer clothes than me…..

……and their clothing style was so cool compared to the cousin hand-me-downs I wore. 

Or maybe it was the day that everyone was smarter or taller or shorter or skinnier and they lived in the perfect house their family owned, instead of a rental which was always our situation when I was growing up.  

It seemed we moved everytime the rent was due, when in reality it was every few years for various reasons. Either the owner sold the house or raised the rent so high my parents could’t afford it and we had to move to another farm (lots of animals) or on to another house on another block.

Did you ever have days like that when you were growing up?

Oh, good.

Then it wasn’t just me.

Perhaps it was just that “era”…because in reality, there were more of my friends living as we did…but many times, they weren’t the ones I was admiring.

The good news is, I was the oldest of three girls and I know it isn’t fair or right or what-ever…but for reasons unknown to me, I always felt like I was my Mom’s favorite.

So when I came home from school in tears…she would lift me up with her words of wisdom and my morale would soar probably more than it should have.  

I think she felt that it was okay to encourage me to march at the head of the parade (so to speak), because sooner or later in life…someone would burst my balloon or rain very hard on my parade and she wanted me to be ready for whatever came my way.   

Mom encouraged me not to compare myself to others….she told me I was special in my own way, just as the Bible describes the lilies of the field or snowflakes.

Each completely different and yet each beautiful in their own way.

She told me I was very smart and pretty and my personality always made me stand out in a crowd and people of all ages loved me.

She would point out those less fortunate (we lived in a very small community) and she encouraged me to reach out and take the focus away from myself and “be there” for others. 

My Mother was well known in this little community, she managed the small telephone office at one time and owned the Red Arrow Cafe at another time.  People still talk of her and her kindness to this day.  I received a letter a few days ago, from one such person and it made my heart sing to read of the wonderful comments and memories of my Mother and the impact she had on their lives.

Mom went to be with the Lord sixteen years ago.

I really miss her.

I would love to say I was the perfect daughter, deserving of her praise… even in later years as a grown-up, I sometimes became exasperated with her, but I never stopped loving her and admiring her.

About a year before Mom died, I lost my husband unexpectedly. As you can imagine, it was very difficult to lose your spouse of almost 30 years.

Not quite a year later, my Mom was laying in a hospital bed so weak and tired of the pain of those last few years.

The doctors said she was fighting the inevitable…she kept hanging on and they were not sure why.

So my sisters and I gathered around her bed and I asked my Mother as I clutched her frail hand in mine….

“Mom, I know you are tired from this horrible disease.  I know you are right with the Lord and are ready for Heaven. Why don’t you just relax and let go to a place of no more pain or suffering?”

And you know what she said to me?

She looked up at me with those same hazel colored eyes she gave to only me….and she said:

“You just lost your husband…and you need me to be here for you.”

My heart shattered at that moment.

My Mother’s last thoughts were for her first born daughter.

I assured her I was ok and that I was going to be fine.

I was holding her hand as she slipped away in that hospital bed.

A Mother’s love….who can deny it?

I treasure each and every moment with her and when I set this tablescape…all I could think about was how much Mom would have loved it.

This tablescape reminds me of my Mom…the dishes are from the 50’s and the edges of the plates curl up and remind me of the crinolines I wore to school.

In fact, the name of the dinnerware is Hazel Atlas Crinoline….how is that for irony?

I have the pink and the turquoise colors, and I believe white was the only other color. I placed the ruffly dinner plates and salad plates on a white charger. The tea cups have a ridged handle which add to their unique style.

The centerpiece is a bit of coastal decor and a bit of floral.  There is a creamer and sugar on one end of  the table and Bible opened to Proverbs 31, which describes the Virtuous or Noble Wife on the other end.

I found an old turquoise and white crocheted doily in my stash that reminded me of my Mother.  Mom had crochet needles in her hands in the early evenings and there were doilies in every room on almost every table of our home.  She also made them to give to friends and relatives.

I used small pink carnations in a turquoise vase, and small pink and white tulips in a white ironstone pitcher on either side of a coastal wicker chair. 

Mom loved tulips and carnations….even though her true favorite was old fashioned zinnias that she grew all summer long, no matter where we lived.

The pink creamer and sugar which matches the Hazel Atlas Crinoline dishes are setting on a pink crinoline salad plate.

The flatware design has a sail boat on the handle and the napkins are delicate pink with crocheting and soft turquoise napkins have a turquoise fringe. 

The stemware water glasses are pale pink and turquoise. 

I could have used either all pink or all turquoise, but I felt it was more for Mother’s Day if there were pink and blue….even though my Mother gave birth to three girls, actually four girls as she gave birth to twins in the middle, but one died just 3 days after birth. 

I love the Willow Tree figurine of Mother and child. My sisters and I collect these figurines and I adore them.  If you would like to see more of them, click on this link:

https://www.willowtree.com/

I love old dishes and I love my memories of my Mom.

I  hope you, who are fortunate to have Mothers still with you, plan and make great memories this upcoming Mother’s Day as well as every day.

Believe me when I tell you…there will come a day when you will wish you had spent more time with this special relationship.