It’s that time of year again, when the pressure is on to think of a special gift for Mom on her day. North Grenville is teeming with great shops with special gifts just for Mom. From baked goods, to flowers, restaurants and gift stores.
But there is also that simple “thank you”. Something that has given me pause, to think about thanking my own Mom. A sincere thanks. My Mom raised six of us on her own. She worked full days, getting on a bus for an hour’s ride into Ottawa and then the same on her way home. She would leave us in the care of our grandmother, who had already raised seven of her own children. My grandmother ruled with the strap. At the time, I resented both her and my mother. But the strap was common in my youth. Everyone had them, including the teachers.
It is only now, in my sixties, that I can fully appreciate both of them. They did what they could, and with the means they had. My Mom did what she had to do to keep us all together as a family. My grandmother did what she had to do, in her late sixties, having to raise yet another brood of kids, all the while having a farm to maintain. I look back now, and think of them as two very strong women. Something I had never realised before. And I have to thank both of them for the strength they instilled in me.
In my mother’s later life, after retiring, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Towards the end of her life, she was like a child and it was our turn to care for her. By the time I finally realised what my Mom had done for me, it was too late to thank her. And I am sorry for missing that opportunity. I know she is now looking down at me from heaven and smiling.
So thank you, Mom, for giving me everything you did, for your struggles to keep us together as a family, and for providing me with five wonderful siblings. What a gift she gave me.
So while you are out there trying to find that special gift for your Mom, Grandmother, mentor, etc… don’t forget that simple thank you, the sincere one, from the heart.
Thanks Mom.
