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Time Warp Tuesday: Mothering

I’m participating in Time Warp Tuesday, the monthly blog hop offered by Kathy at Bereaved and Blessed. This week’s theme is Mothering, and our assignment is to:

Choose a blog entry from your archives that you wrote about mothering. It can be a post where you talked about your own experience as a mother, one in which you wrote about your hopes and dreams for being a mother, a blog entry about mothers who have influenced you and/or however else you may interpret this topic.

Three years ago I tried to express the love and appreciation I have for my mom in the post The Mom Behind the Mom I Am. I love this post for many reasons:

  • for the photo of my Mom and me in the Mad Men era (and now that I look again, I see my baby niece in my baby face — do you see it, Tami?)
  • for the chance to share some family lore and our strange sense of humor
  • for revisiting how my Mom helped me get through the deep grief brought about by infertility
  • for the comments left on the post by my sisters and my aunt.
  • for the comments left by others to the questions I posed

What’s happened since then? Well, if anything I appreciate my mom even MORE for three reasons:

  1. because she continues to make Date Nights possible
  2. because I’m getting closer to seeing what it takes to raise a teenager and I keep reaching new heights of respect and awe
  3. because she’s here. My husband’s mother no longer is, and several of my close friends have lost their mothers since I wrote that post. (Small comfort, but if you are one who has lost a mom, I offer to abide with you on what’s sure to be a wistful day and I offer this post from 2010.)

Click over to Time Warp Tuesday to read more posts about blogging milestones and maybe even add your own.

12 Responses

  1. Your mom sounds pretty awesome! I’m sure you picked up more than a few things from her – for instance, how to work well in an open adoption relationship…

  2. I love reason #2 you appreciate your mom even more today! It is so true that until we are parents, it is hard fully understand and respect what our own parents went through raising us.

    Likewise, until Bob and I struggled for over five years to have and bring home another living child after our first/our son, I never understood why anyone, especially my parents, would decide not to try to have more or bring more into their life another way after be able to bring home two healthy children.

    You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers as you celebrate all of the mothers that have influenced your life this weekend, both those still here and those who have gone before. Abiding with you too, my friend and grateful to have your motherly influence in my life. xoxo

    Thanks so much for doing the Time Warp again this month! I always love when you participate!

  3. First, I’m glad you reminded me it’s Tuesday. I keep thinking it is Wednesday. Second, oh my gosh, you don’t realize how difficult parenting is until you do it yourself – and I think that you end up respecting your mama a whole lot more!

  4. Regarding #2…that reminds me that I need to call my mom to apologize for, well, just about everything from the mid-70s to the mid-80s…

  5. Huh. Re-reading my comment on your original post, it turns out that I’m much better at being fully present for my children than I anticipated.

    Having met your mother since that post, I can say that some of the same wonderful qualities she has brought to mothering she also brings to grandmothering.

  6. This post really made me think that I need to write something up this week about my mom. I’ve been so busy, but I NEED to make time for that special post just for her…
    xo

  7. What a wonderful post that is! I’m so touched I can’t even type this!

    I don’t know about the part about being a wonderful mother, but I do know that I loved you three girls with all my heart and still do! You are all awesome Moms and you make me proud every time I watch you with your kids!

    More than motherhood though you have each excelled in so many areas. I don’t think I knew you could do that — I thought a Mom is a Mom is a Mom. Must have been pretty boooooring!

    I do remember wondering and worrying if I was doing the right things right — Knowing that by the time I got the answer to that question, it would be too late to change anything. That’s what makes parenting so hard. You never know if you are doing a good job. And there are always those unexpected pitfalls to sidestep.

    As far as the use of the car — your Dad was in a carpool and so I had a car several days a week, so I just learned to plan excursions on a non-carpool day. The rest of the time we spent in the bathroom reading!

    I know it seems like your kids will always need you and be dependent on you FOREVER! They won’t. Treasure this time with them, because it will be over in a blink!

    Just to put things in perspective — I had a good teacher who had a good teacher!

    LOVE

  8. OMG I so needed to see this today. With my folks now and I really love love my mom and am glad I can be here for them during this tough time. Thanks for reminding me to take the time to list why I love my mom. 🙂

  9. I so love that Dottie (your mom) commented here/on this post! What a gift! 🙂

    I think this is so true/wise:

    “I do remember wondering and worrying if I was doing the right things right — Knowing that by the time I got the answer to that question, it would be too late to change anything. That’s what makes parenting so hard. You never know if you are doing a good job. And there are always those unexpected pitfalls to sidestep.”

    Also, I appreciate that she (and my mom) both had good teachers who had good teachers and we certainly have good teachers too!

  10. Lori this single post lead me to so many others that gave me a window into the kind of woman, mother, friend, sibling, sister in law and daughter you are. You write with honesty and vulnerability. I am a reader for life!

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