Tuesday: Life with Mother

My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.

Mark Twain

Yesterday was a good day. My book Life with Mother was published and is now available for sale on my website. I want to thank all of you who wrote me notes of congratulation and support. I want to especially thank my sister Glenna for her support which made it possible for me to complete the book. Today my morning muse is dedicated to Glenna.


Mother used to always call Glenna sunshine. And from when I can first remember Mother always loved the song You are my sunshine. Her last year, I could always cheer her up by singing it. Sometimes my brother Lee or sisters would be on the phone and they would all sing this song together. And Mother always wanted Sunflowers around her. She and Glenna have been sunflowers in my life.


One of the major things that I learned from my mother was that in spite of adversity - or maybe because of it - we can grow and we can thrive. We can become the spiritual flower that we are destined to be when that seed of our soul is planted when we are born. It is the role of our mothers to nourish that early development so that we can evolve into the spiritual beings that we are to become. I was lucky in that my mother was a very good gardener of her own life. She knew how to pluck out the weeds of fear and distrust. She knew how to water and refresh her life with faith and hope and belief. She knew how to perservere in the worst of storms. She taught me these skills.


Some folks were never fortunate enough to have a mother like mine. Some were orphaned at an early age rather than at sixty like I was. Some had mothers that were ill, either mentally or physically, and did not receive the nurturing they needed. However, I have learned we have lots of mothers in our lives. One of mine was Naomi Hail. Naomi married my brother John and was always special to me. Many times when I was growing up the adversities in life challenged Mom and me, and I would go and live with Naomi. She taught me other skills that I did not get from Mom. She taught me to be involved in life. She taught me how to put on make-up and be a girly-girl. She taught me how to hang in there also.


It is amazing how our female friends share with us different roles. Sometimes they are like sisters, sometimes like mothers, and sometimes they are our daughters. Male friends do the same. Sometimes they are like brothers, sometimes they are like fathers, and sometimes they are our sons. Always, they are the flowers manifest in our garden of life.


Today I am going to hang garlands of Sunflowers in my office as I remember my life with mother.

http://lifewithmother.com