Yesterday was supposed to be Day 4, and I was grateful for good, waterproof winter clothes. Only I didn’t tag it. I got involved in writing it out and finding a photo and forgot to do that. So, please note that yesterday I was grateful.
I am grateful every day, in fact. For many, many things. Among these things are: a sixty-year and counting marriage; parents and grandparents who loved me and supported me and had me taught and allowed me to learn; teachers who cared and knew what they were doing; a city to live in that was clean, well-ordered and prosperous, mostly; good health and dental care that we could always afford; friends; a library close by; the time and money to travel. All of that.
But I am almost overwhelmed when I think how lucky, how blessed I am, in our two amazing children. They were and are intelligent, curious, hard-working, funny and generous. They have good health and outstanding careers. Okay, they were occasionally a royal pain as teenagers, not to mention teething, braces and the odd bad choice of boyfriends. Whose children missed those landmarks? But I have always been able to be proud of them.
I have always been able to talk with them, even if some conversations were pretty stressful. They bring me butter tarts and Belgian chocolate. They run their father’s errands and do his heavy lifting. They know how to work iPhones and can fix my (and his) problems. They even clean my kitchen. Although they have tasked me to look after both the grandkid and the granddog, child and animal were well-behaved and came with written instructions as needed. (And both the kid and the dog took pills without trauma.) They have taken me on trips and vacations.
They even seem to like
me. How unusual is that?
I suspect that every mother feels, in her secret heart,
that her children are the absolute models of what offspring should be. Even if,
sometimes, they really aren’t. But mine, mine, really are! And, oh my, am I
grateful.
This really is a hugely grateful post. It's not often that we think about how grateful we are for the place where we grew up. I think about my own hometown often and how it afforded me a good perspective of diversity, economic and racial, as well as richly cultural. It was vastly helpful to me throughout my life.
ReplyDeleteLove the detail about how appreciative you are that both your grandchild and granddog took pills without trauma (or drama?).
In my secret heart, however, I don't think my children are Models Of What Every Child Should Be, at least not at every stage. Some points along the way, I was fed up, disappointed, and angry. Am I Quite Pleased by the Men They've Now Become? Absolutely yes.
The trauma would have been mine; neither bit me. All good! Yes, I have been fed up with child care, not the child's fault but there they are; disappointed, slightly, at some of their choices; angry, you bet. I needed to choose better words there, but they would not come clear for me. On the line of 'everyone is out of step but my Charlie', an old joke of my family's. All our kids are Charlie, yes?
DeleteYou are so fortunate, Mary. I hope you have many years of gratitude remaining.
ReplyDeleteJane here. I Love this piece of gratitude. You once said you marvelled at the fact I loved each of my children fully and uniquely and that has stayed with me throughout the years buoying me up when I doubted myself. You my gracious, thoughtful, ever evaluating, loving friend, raised those two to be the amazing women they are, behind them each and every single day, even when they drove you crazy, even when you yourself struggled . You were there, their biggest fan, coach, encourager, mentor and guide. I am privileged to have you so close by. Your kindness, hard work, and counsel have raised the rest of us as well. Thank you…
ReplyDeleteThanks a load, and you are both sweet and generous. There are these things called genes, eh? My mother used to talk about nature and nurture. Nature comes first, and then we, as mothers, try to figure that out. I love the talks you are giving on how to do that; they are clear, right to the point and useful. I could have used them, about the mug throwing stage - ask the YD about that one.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that two out of three ain't bad. For that I am grateful. I don't speak to my youngest. Such is life.
ReplyDeleteTwo out of three is a win, in any game. and it often is a game. When it isn’t a war. I note that my iPad is making me anonymous ...sorry about that!
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