This post was meant to be on Mother's Day. Wrote some of it on Mother's day in between my daughter's dances but ran out of time to finish, so here it is, one week later, but still relevant!
Literally where would we be without mothers? Not here! From the beginning of time, the role of motherhood has been esteemed above all. Mary, the mother of Jesus even reverenced for her role in history, iconic.
Today remembering the women; mothers and Grandmothers who have influenced and shaped my life.
My Mum is one of the hardest working women I know. Earliest memories of her are working several jobs at the one time to raise my sister and I as a single parent. Doing anything to make ends meet and provide the best for us. Though resources were tight, we never lacked anything. Mum knew how to make a meal out of nothing. I have memories of Mum working till midnight on handicraft projects to sell; from ceramics, to teddy bears, dolls and patchwork quilts. Always creative, working at night after working all day. Mum also loves her garden, a place she starts her day and everything in it flourishes with her tender care.
Mum is a wonderful Nana to my four and they all adore her. Nan's house a favourite place to be for fresh baking and card making. When I first started back to work, Nan would always be at our place too, helping care for my four after school. Am forever grateful. We can never leave Nan's house without taking more than we came with, either a tub of home made soup, a batch of biscuits, clothing Mum has found garage sale-ing - we never leave empty handed!
My Mum is incredibly generous, industrious and loving. She also knows how to 'let go'. She let me go to England when I was only 18 years of age, and live in Europe for 2.5 years. I knew it was difficult for her, but she let me do it anyway. Probably my fierce independence comes from her, am grateful that she trusted enough to let me go.
I think my Mum gets her hard working ethic from her Mum! Nana Allgood was a dairy farmer's wife. Grew up in peanut country, Kingaroy, mother of 6, she too knew what is was to work hard; no washing machine, microwave, dishwasher or electric dryer in her day of raising 6 young children! Monday was washing day, the whole day. Tuesday baking day, all day, Wednesday, sewing day (as all clothes were handmade) and so on....
"Idle hands are devils hands", Nan used to say. And never were her hands idle. She was always crocheting, knitting or doing needle work of some kind if sitting still, even while watching TV, she was never idle. Nana Allgood also loved her garden. Snap dragons, freesias, hydrangeas, pansies and petunias always filled her garden in their season. I learnt names of plants thanks to Nana and today when I see beautiful gardens, think how much Nana would love it too. Nana was a very selfless, quiet, religious lady who made the best date scones on the planet!
My father's Mum was a carpenter's wife and similarly inspiring. Adopted as a child, she was the only one of us to have a private school education and grew up in beautiful Toowoomba. She lived a more bourgeois lifestyle, marked by sport and travel. Contributing to women's sport in Australia in the early 1950's so significantly that she was acknowledged by the Queen with a special award in the year 2000 - a letter only discovered when preparing her funeral. A humble, elegant lady who lived to 99yrs old, outliving her husband and 2 of her 3 sons. Sharp as a tack even at the end of her life, though visually impaired, she never let that affect her quality of life.
For her 99th birthday she was given a brand new pair of sneakers to go off to rehab gym at our local hospital. Unfortunately she had broken her hip, however surviving the surgery at 98yrs, she bravely faced 2 hours of gym work everyday, until it all got too much and she was 'ready to go home' as she graciously put it.
Grandma was able to recite all the names of the Broncos footballers & claim her pick for State of Origin team! Much to my son's great delight when we would visit, Grandma was listening to the footy game on the radio! And would politely tell us we would have to wait until the game was finished before we could chat! Grandma Turnbull loved her sport. Grandma was strong, elegant, poised, reserved yet broad minded.
I think mothering is the most significant, demanding, responsible role we will ever have as women. I also believe it's healthy and honouring to reflect how we have been shaped & influenced as a reminder in our current stage as mothers of what things will impact our children.
What will our children remember about us?
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