MOTHERS DAY THOUGHTS
I bought that heart for my Mom sometime in the 80s. I was in New York on business, and I wouldn’t be flying home until Sunday, which happened to be Mother’s Day and I had forgotten to get a gift for her before I left town. So Saturday morning I was running around NYC looking for a special gift to bring home to her. And I couldn’t find anything that said what I want to say to her. Finally I passed a small jewelry and gift shop on a side street in the West Village. My Mom wasn’t big on wearing jewelry, but I figured I might find something she’d like in the shop.
I looked around the shop not finding anything that said what I wanted to say … until I saw a small lucite heart with a red rose imbedded inside. And the inscription said everything that I wanted to say …
Thanks, Mom, For Everything!
I asked the shopkeeper if I could see the heart. She was a very little woman, much like my mother. Mom was only 4′ 10″ and the only time she reached 100 pounds was when she was pregnant with each of her three sons. The shopkeeper also had a very Germanic accent which I discovered when she said, “You get this for your mama?” When I said yes, she said, “You’re a good boy … I’ll put it in a special box for her.” Which she did, and wrapped it up in fancy paper with a ribbon and a bow.
It wasn’t an expensive gift, but I think my Mom liked it. She put it in the center of her dresser, and there it remained until the day she died. It still sets in the same spot, I’ve never taken it off or put it away. It’s like my everlasting message to Anna Rose … my very special Mom.
This is the oldest picture I have of my Mom. It was taken in 1928.
It was her grade school graduation picture when she was 16.
Mom wasn’t kept back, but she did drop out of school for two years in the early 20s when had to help her mother take care of her seven younger brothers and sisters. Mom was the second of ten children.
After two years she returned to school to complete her grade school education.
The last picture I took of Mom at the wedding of her youngest granddaughter and namesake.
She was 93 at the time, and she would be with us for one year more.
Thanks, Mom, for everything!
Posted on May 13, 2012, in LIFE WITH BOB and tagged Mother's Day. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
... a somewhat unknown or perhaps imaginary actor, writer, director, producer, photographer, friend, brother, uncle and all round good fellow that you really should get to know because he lives with that most glamorous fourpaw Mademoiselle Renee. (Mlle. Renee for short)
That’s a beautiful tribute. Our mothers’ life stories are always so amazing to me.
My mother and both of my grandmothers had lives filled with wonderful amazing stories. They all were strong, smart women without a formal education beyond grade school.
My mother, too, had to leave school in the eighth grade to take care of sick family members. And she was one of the smartest women I’ve ever known.
You would have loved my mother. She didn’t know anything about algebra, but she could add up lists of numbers in her head. More important, she was a spelling whiz and a grammar stickler. A double threat when it came time to check homework.