The Best Thing About Moms
Notice the little things we take for granted
Young Shirley JudgeI remember on the playground at recess in Elementary School we used to challenge each other with statements about how our parents are better than the next guy’s. It went something like this:
MY Dad fixes things.
Oh yeah, well, MY Dad writes books.
Yeah, well, MY Dad fixes things AND plays baseball.
Oh yeah, well, MY Mom makes homemade Ice Cream.
Yeah, well, MY Mom works at the hospital and cures people.
And on and on it went until the bell rang us back into the classroom. I was recently thinking about my Mom and realized all the extraordinary things about her that I took for granted when I was young. It turned into a MY-Mom challenge poem in my head while I walked along the beach. I challenge you to actually write down your own My-Mom poem to celebrate the gift of your mother and her set-apart traits. Not everyone has a positive relationship with their mother, but I still think the poem can be written with a different slant. Try starting it with “Because my mother was ______, I have become more determined or independent or careful or adventurous or tenacious...”
We can choose to acknowledge the role our mother played in making us who we are NOW. And who we are now, is perfect, beautiful and evolving.
See my Mother’s Day poem below…
Shirley, Mother of Pearl
MY mom always cried on her birthday.
because it was the first day back to school
and she was going to miss us kids.
MY Mom never had a fight with me.
She only knew how to be a Peace-Maker.
MY Mom drew my attention to little things that are beautiful…
Shells held in her hand,
Sparkling sand,
Colours in rocks,
Tiny wild strawberries,
Acorns,
Dainty Lily-of-the-Valley bell-like flowers.
MY Mom decorated the house for every seasonal event…
Valentines,
St. Patrick’s Day,
Easter,
Halloween,
Christmas…
MY Mom sent cupcakes to school on my birthday;
One for each kid in the class.
MY Mom planned lessons for the summer.
So we wouldn’t get behind in school.
MY Mom planned games for my Birthday Parties;
And made tradition for the children to decorate the cake.
MY Mom drove around town for hours delivering food to the elderly.
And then she had to visit them for a while too.
MY Mom knew enough not to hold me too tightly.
As not to extinguish my fiercely independent fire.
MY Mom knew me more than I realized.
