Because I kept quite a little list of grievances, with few
grudging compliments, I had trouble finding an appropriate Mothers’ Day
card.
 |
| from The New Yorker* |
I was hard on my mother –
and I am grateful that as I weathered my own parenting failures she truly kept
her own counsel. We may not have made the same mistakes – but we shared defeats
that were similarly painful. The wonderful experience, and best memories
though, were sharing the joy of holding babies, taking toddlers for walks, and
sharing the confidences of a child’s opinion of this old world. She never
withheld her high opinion of each of her grandchildren and great grandchildren!
The same restraint and kindness was a hallmark of my
mother-in-law. Neither “mom”
played the critic, and both were generous and helpful. I wish there were a card I could send
to express my regrets for not having more conversations and my gratitude for so
much.
But I doubt I could afford the postage.
 |
| Mom and Me |
 |
| Doug and his Mom |
·
Be not angry that you cannot make others as you
wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. ~Thomas à
Kempis, Imitation of Christ, c.1420
·
God grant me the serenity to accept the people I
cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's
me. ~Author unknown, variation of an excerpt from "The Serenity
Prayer" by Reinhold Neibuhr
No comments:
Post a Comment