Happy Mothers' Day 2013

Sunday is Mothers' Day. I've been a mother for more than 50 years. In fact, my youngest child was 50 this year and I have three chidren older than she is, so that makes me an OLD mother.

Having been a mother and a pastor's wife for all these years, I tried to think of my happiest Mothers' Day memory. We lived far away from our parents in Texas, pastoring Missouri churches when our children were small, so we didn't get to see our mothers on their special day. We took our visiting with our mothers when we could get it, which might have been once a year, or maybe a little oftener. Because we married before we finished school, we had to work hard to get our degrees, do our jobs, and raise our kids. There wasn't much money for extras in those days, but my husband usually bought me a card or something special to show his love. And there were times when I received flowers for Mothers' Day which I appreciated very much.

I remember an incident when our children were small, in the days when they could walk around and play outside without worry about abduction or people who would harm them. We lived in Sedalia, Missouri, and our two oldest walked about three blocks to the Safeway grocery store on Mothers' Day afternoon with all the coins they could find in the house. They bought me a cup and saucer which they proudly brought to me with their love. They were both under 10 years of age. I can imagine them counting their pennies, walking through the store while they looked for something they could afford with the small amount of money they had, and choosing a gift for me. I treasure that memory.

Now, in addition to my own four children, I am blessed to be the grandmother of eight grandchildren and 5 step-grandchildren, plus I'm great-grandmother to a sweet baby girl, and a great-grandson is due in August. I don't get to hold these babies often since they live in Texas and we are still in Missouri, but I love them long-distance. I love getting pictures of Maclaine and I know I'll get pictures of little Austin after he gets here.
                                                      


Maclaine Monroe DeGroot --almost 6 months

Austin O'Dell Nobles-- due in August

I hope your Mothers' day is happy-- and that you get to see your children and grandchildren. Have a wonderful day filled with memories.

When you write down your memories, be sure to include a story about Mothers' Day--something that meant a lot to you, whether it is about your mother or about you as a mother. Personal memories mean so much to those who come after you, and your children and grandchildren will treasure your stories about things that blessed your life.

If you'd like to share a memory or a comment about Mothers' Day here, I'd love to hear about it.



I hope this is what my children remember about their childhood days.
We couldn't buy them expensive gifts, but I often heard my husband say,
"We didn't have a lot of money, but we sure had love."
They had both a mom and a dad who loved them more than anything.