Mother's Day

Well, I can honestly say that this has been a less than perfect Mother's Day for me, except for the part where I got to eat chocolate while I was writing video scripts this afternoon. That was good.

But this whole weekend, I was sick as a dog with whatever upper respiratory crud knocked Tom out last weekend. (Colden had it earlier in the week, but he didn't have it nearly as bad as Tom and I did!) On Friday night, I was so miserable that I just could not sleep. I woke up when Colden woke up around 2:30, and that was it. I laid there and coughed and tried to blow my nose, but nothing was making me any better. And I felt like I had a fever, too. So, finally, around 4 a.m., I gave in, took my laptop into the living room with the tissues, some juice and a blanket and my pillow and crashed on the couch until Tom had to get up at 5:30 to go fishing.

Thankfully, Colden ate some breakfast the next morning with Tom and Claude, and then crawled back into bed so I could get a little sleep.

Today, the crud seems better, except for the occasional burst of snot in my nose.

Anyway, Tom did give me my Mother's Day/birthday present today, which is the complete Monty Python series on dvd, including the three movies: The Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and the Meaning of Life. I have been a Monty Python freak for years, ever since an ex-boyfriend of mine introduced me to the show. It was the most bizarre, intelligent thing I had ever seen, and I can tell you some of the most inane bits of Python trivia, if you care to ask.

But anyway. This is my second Mother's Day without my mom, and I want to write something about her here.

Mom passed away in July of 2008, just before Colden turned six months old. I spent ten days in Texas with her right before she passed away, and it's a great comfort to me that she at least got to meet Colden, to hold his chubby little hand and foot, watch him kick his legs while he nursed, and laugh at him in the baby sunglasses I bought for him at Target one evening. Even though Mom had been sick for years, I still felt totally unprepared for the moment when I got the call from my sister at 4 in the morning to tell me that Mom was gone.














This is a picture that was taken at my sister's wedding in 1996. My Mom and Dad are the first two on the left. My mom is holding the red crocheted beaded bag that her Aunt Lou made back in the 1930s. Mom sent that bag to me in 2005, and it's one of my most prized family heirlooms. (See? Beads run in my family!)

My mom was an incredibly talented artist. She could draw, which is something I still can't do, and she made her living by designing and editing knit and crochet designs and patterns for various yarn companies and craft magazines while we were growing up. If there's one thing that I truly and honestly can thank my mother for, it was her example of how to earn a living doing something that you love.

The other thing for which I will always be grateful to Mom is that she always supported my sister and I in whatever creative endeavors we had. As a kid, I can remember watercolor painting classes, baton twirling lessons (which I absolutely loved), violin lessons, hours spent with her teaching me how to knit and crochet, and of course, making jewelry. She and Dad always encouraged me to do what I loved, including singing in our church choir, taking piano lessons, and auditioning for all the high school musicals and plays that I wanted to. They never told us "no" when it came to something that fed our creative spirits.

Lately, I've really been missing Mom a lot. I wish she could see what a handsome little man Colden is now. And I wish she could see what I'm doing on the About.com site. I think she'd be a little bit proud of me for that.

So, to all you Moms out there, put your feet up - it's not too late for a glass of wine and a chick flick, or even a cuddle with your family.

And to my Mom: I miss you and love you, wherever you are.