Thoughts on Mother’s Day

I have been a mother for more than 33 years, but this is the first Mother’s Day that I have a daughter who is a mother. It’s a good feeling. I love being a grandmother, and I enjoy watching my daughter and son-in-law raising their ten-month-old son. They parent well in ways that are both serious—like health and safety—and fun—like playing guitar music and singing.

It takes a great deal of energy to chase after a baby who started walking at nine months. He is an energizer bunny chasing the cats or just going from room to room to see what is going on. Luckily Eli is still content to ride in the stroller for his twice daily walks and sleeps soundly for his twice daily naps.

Having adult children is the best! When they married, I felt as if we had twice as many children with the addition of their spouses who are as nice as can be. I could not have done a better job picking them myself. All four lead interesting, busy lives. It’s fun to hear what they are doing and even better when we get to see them. Seattle is one of my favorite cities to visit now thanks to our son and daughter-in-law who indulge our every whim when we are there.

So my thoughts on being a mother are all happy ones. My thoughts about my own mother are bittersweet. She is well taken care of in an excellent nursing home, but she no longer knows us and at 88 is very childlike in her dementia. Fortunately, I have many good memories of the woman who was a wonderful mother and role model to my brothers and me.