A Mother's Day Wednesday Medley

Everything below this line is from The National Day Calendar.

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MOTHER’S DAY – Second Sunday in May

MOTHER’S DAY

Everyone has one or has someone who is like a mother to them. On the second Sunday of May, we honor those women who are our mothers. Whether we shower her with gifts, take her to a fancy dinner or make her a homemade card, what moms want most is to be surrounded by the love of their family. Knowing the people they love are safe, sound and healthy is a mom’s number one priority.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Remember to put mom first on Mother’s Day and use #MothersDay to share on social media.

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Everything above this line is from The National Day Calendar.

1. Where did your mom grow up? My mother was born in 1923 and grew up the oldest daughter of 6 on a large dairy farm in SW Virginia.  She learned the meaning of hard work as each of those 6 girls  did the work of sons  my grandfather never had. 

  

2. Tell us about her siblings, if she has/had any. 

As I said mother had 5 sisters..  each one was born about 3 years apart.And  poor grandpa was always hopeful for a son. which  explains the names,

First of all, Janice was born as  a playmate for mother,  then came Jimmy Lou, Betty Jo, Tommye,   and then they just gave up  when in the end  Nancy was born. 

All of these gals had   formal  education following high school but my dear mother contracted a deadly disease  of the kidneys  in high school and was given a year to live....  thankfully, praise God, a cure was found and  by the time  she was   healthy  she  was already dating my dad and had no desire to go away to school so she got a good job working as a chemist's assistant in the milk plant! 

The sisters had good  careers,  two teachers,  one worked at the Agriculture Dept in DC., one as an Interior Decorator, and one for the IRS in  DC, as well.

3. What is ONE of your favorite memories you can share with us of your mom? 

This is a memory of the story mother loved to tell..   My dad graduated from HS in 1938  and  worked in the factories  of their town for a time while and he and mother dated.  In  1942 he enlisted in the Army and was stationed in San Francisco for his training. When he came home on leave  before   he was  to be sent over seas,    he and mother  sort of had a rift and he left not knowing when or if they'd

see each other again.  Mother    realizing   she  loved him so much,  just had to get  to the west coast  to  Spokane, Washington  before he  might be shipped out.  She   had no means to get there  except her only property of value,...  fine milk cow of her own which she sold for the value of a train ticket to Seattle, then  bus fare to Spokane..  So she  took off on her own in 1943  on a cross country trip to meet her beloved  with  hardly a penny to her name. 

 She did have a hamper of food for the trip.  Of course, dad with his license in hand, was so excited to see her and whisked her away  to  the  Justice of the Peace  to get married,  but lo, and behold when they got there  they were turned away because they had to have a witness who signed that they had known the couple for  some years.  😢
There sat the couple crying on a park bench outside the office when a kindly   man and  his wife  sauntered by and  sat with them to offer their assistance..(I think they weree angels, truly!)  when  mother  sobbingly told her story, the lady said,"Why, goodness me,  we've known you for  years and years." So this  couple  stood up for my parents  as they wed  on October 7th, 1043.

  Mom and dad were married 70 years.  

4. Please share a picture or two of your mom with us. 

My mother as I remember her  as a child

Mother and me on our vacation to Jamestown in 1957

Mother worked in retail most of her life..   and then  worked so hard at home sewing our clothes, gardening,  canning,  washing clothes in a wringer washer on our back porch when I was little  and hanging the clothes on the line ...  always.
In her retirement she loved her friends and spent  much of her time  channelling her talents  doing  wood crafts that she and dad traveled from show to show  as their  hobby and entertainment.

Mother back in the early 2000's  

She passed into eternity into the arm's of Jesus on December 27, 2014.  Dad had passed in December of 2013.

5. Let's not leave out the grandmothers. Share what you will. 

My mother's mother, Grandma Cox  was  a lovely  woman who  was a dairy farmer's wife 

and they  lived well,  but were very Scotch.  She did not believe in spending money frivolously!  She was extremely talented in the home arts which she passed readily on to my mother who  I believe got a greater chuck of it than most of the sisters. She taught mother how to sew a button a s decoration to hide a stain or a tear.  Mother had many tee shirts  that she wore  on our  camping vacations that were  decorated    with  quite a few  lovely buttons and embroidered flowers! Grandma was a marvelous cook and canned or preserved everything  from the farm.  Her pantry was filled with canned beef and sausage  which to day is my favorite  food she  prepared!  She had  a    quick wit and was  funny  to be with  especially in her older age,  but as  a child  spending weeks on the farm  she was  a force to reckon with.

My dad's mother, my Granny,  I loved so much in a different way.  Not being as prosperous    Granny had to work in the knitting mill  until retirement age and so I learned to expect socks and underwear   every Christmas and birthday  but that was OK!  She made up for that in her frivolity.  She would come spend a week with us  while mom and dad were at work.

I loved it when she'd say,   " Let's slip a way to the store and find something good to eat"..she loved ice cream and Fritoes! ....or  " shop at the nearby shopping mall and find something  fun to do." When we'd visit her,  she   prepared meals fit for the queen..  usually at least 3 meats.. fried chicken, pork loin,  beef, every side dish imaginable, then there would be  a coconut cake, a chocolate pie and always a caramel cake just for me..  that was my favorite  and she loved me, I won't say best,  but I was the oldest and the only grandchild that lived   hours away and didn't  live very close by!

6. Do you have any special plans for Mother's Day? Our moms and grandmas are, also, all gone now. We, too, will go to Sunday School and I may visit  a new church that I have been invited to.. My husband will have a committee  meeting during the service this Sunday. We will meet up and   decide where  he'd like to take me... Because it is a big eating out day we will probably opt to go  out for Chinese which will be great as we haven't had Chinese for some time! 

 Since our daughter lives in Massachusetts,  we  possibly may do face time some time over the weekend or on Monday following which is our usual  time. I received my card from her  yesterday.  So Sweet!!

I do have an aunt who lives nearby and a couple of long time friends I could consider my God Mother's  we should go to see and perhaps take them some flowers.  Hub's back has been  troubling him so we will just have to wait and see! Meanwhile, I shall sit out back under the garden umbrella and enjoy my new rose garden..  If he can get it planted due to his back..  The  ground has been cleared and all is set for the planting to commence!