The joke is clearly on me this month. I realized several months ago I was becoming burned out trying to write a tome every month. Here I am again, however, the month of May and it just so happens to be Mother's Day. Being that I am a mother and had a wonderful mother and grandmother's, I thought I'd write about motherhood and the meaning it has in my own life. You see, being a mother is my greatest blessing and the most profound experience I have ever had.
Motherhood for me was somewhat of a joke because I really wasn't sure I ever wanted to raise children. My motherly instincts in days of yore, was coddling cats and dreaming of puppies. I lived vicariously through my friends who had children and followed the lives of my nieces and nephew closely. Then, low and behold, there I was, the age of thirty-nine and expecting my one and only. Yes, it was a shock but a good shock and one that I got over very quickly. At the time I was worried that I was too old, too long in the tooth to handle a baby but yes I did and here we are 28 years later, looking back at the wonders of motherhood and thanking God for the greatest blessing of my life.
Over the last dozen years, I have studied my family genealogy. My maternal grandmother was a younger mother when my own mother was born. My paternal grandmother was an older mother at the time of my father's birth, but all four great grannies were all the same age as me, at the time my grandparents were all born. Of course, my grandparents were all at the younger end of the line of siblings, but I can't imagine giving birth in my late 30's and early 40's in the late1800's. No drugs, no hospitals, only midwives in the most primitive of conditions. Yikes, I was a big baby when I gave birth to my kid, can you only imagine giving birth in a 2-room home in Victorian England, a ranch in the hills of rural California, or in a log home in the Ozarks? NO! These are women who should be revered and thanked profusely.
Meanwhile, circling back to my life and my motherhood experience, it was challenging to say the least. My one and only will always admit she was not always very cooperative. She was a bit of a handful, but a sweeter, more beautiful baby will never be unless it's my future grandchild. The lessons this handful taught me were about patience, pure love, and complete devotion. She taught me how to give fully and completely and with love in my heart. This is what motherhood is about.
Over the years, as I raised my handful, I wondered how my own mother had the stamina to raise the two of us. I'd guess it was easier as we entertained ourselves. But then I began to look back, and all my grandparents were part of 8 to 9 siblings. I worked outside of my home all the years the one and only was growing up; can you just imagine raising 9 kids and trying to keep them all straight in your mind? Imagine the arguments, squabbles, and expense it took to raise that many kids! Yes, they were spaced out, yes, the oldest was usually gone by the time the last kid arrived, but just imagine! I can't but I give my great grandparents plenty of accolades for raising fine, upstanding citizens who knew the value of hard work, dedication to their families and country. These great grandparents were the backbone of their children's families. They were and still are admired and loved.
Therefore, to end this diatribe on motherhood, I want to thank my mother, my grandmothers and the four great grannies and beyond. Your love, devotion, hard work and worn-out bodies are all to be thanked. My own mother, who I love and miss desperately, is remembered always and lives daily in my heart. My grannies are always in my heart and when I look at my family trees, see the faces of the greats who in some cases, look similar to my own, I smile and say thank you. You are all to be saluted and thanked. Happy Mother's Day!
"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness" Proverbs 31: 26-27
My paternal grandmother Henrietta Lee Lancaster 1892-1963 She was a true southern belle
My maternal grandmother, Gladys Mary Hawkins 1896-1991 An English Rose
My mother Margaret Sinclair 1925-2014 The darling of Santa Catalina Island
