The joys of motherhood were never lost on me. Raising our three high-spirited, mischievous boys was the route to full appreciation of life and love and all the small, good things of every day.
This faded photo is far from the stuff of great photography, but it represents a precious memory among a life of precious memories. These giggling, silly little human beings taught us not to take too seriously the struggles that emerge in every person's life. When things were down, we quickly learned that we could allow the exuberance of their small-boy spirits to lift us up.
I remember when this photograph was taken. It wasn't on a Mother's Day; it was New Year's Eve in the early 1970s. We were in the midst of tough finances; we could not afford a baby-sitter or the money the money to go out for New Year's Eve; we couldn't even handle the expense of entertaining guests at home.
In the afternoon that New Year's Eve, the boys had seen a TV piece about how grown-ups celebrate the holiday. They wondered why we grown-ups did that every year, and Bob and I explained as best we could that people seemed to feel the need to escort the remains of the old rumpled year out the door, to greet a fine new year that they hoped would bring a fresh new start.
The boys decided it would be great fun to have our own party; just us! To make good things to eat and dress up a little bit and "try to stay awake later than we ever have before."
That's what we did! We made funny paper hats and made a lot of happy noise; we played records, made up crazy dances and goofy games, drank ginger ale, told stories, ate popcorn and cookies and peanut-butter sandwiches... All the details of our celebration were chosen by the boys, impulsively!
And then we turned to TV to "watch the ball drop." Not one of those boys was going to fall asleep until it happened (Guess who barely made it through? The eldest boy, as you can see in the photograph).
A great celebration! Who could have had more fun than we did?
On this Mother's Day 2014, our three sons are long since grown and their children are approaching adulthood too. They have been making memories of their own, and we're proud to see that those memories, like ours, have been born of their strong feelings of home and family and their recognition of the importance of finding time to "grow up" with their kids.
And I have been enjoying all the joys of grand-motherhood!
