As the little guy hopped around trying to get used to this new world, his mom was right there showing him how it was done & his daddy was cheering him on from the tree above. She would hop & flap her wings & he would copy... she would chirp he would chirp & so it went on. I've heard it takes at least 5 days for a bird to learn to fly.
As I watched, it made me think about motherhood... & how many women in my life have given me wings & taught me how to fly.
My own mother, like myself, had to go from playing mommy to being mommy, & though it wasnt easy for her, & though she made mistakes, she never gave up. Teaching me to not count how many times you break, but rather how many times you put yourself back together.
(My mom & I, circa 1983; Kissing under the Christmas Tree... my favorite pic.)I have also been lucky enough to have had both my maternal & paternal grandmothers in my life. Both so very different, but both have taught me so many of lifes lessons...
My Grandma Maggie was one of the most spectacular women I have ever known!
She was all firecrackers & burbon... She taught me not to take life so seriously, to stand up for what I believe in, and to be strong when I feel like all I am is weak. Oh, & she gave me my black belt in shopping!:)
I think that when Wanda Jackson wrote the song Fujiyama Mamma she had my grandma in mind!
And Then there is my Granny...
When I think of JoAnna Dodson the first word that comes to mind is strength. As a mother she has stood by her children no matter right or wrong. She has sat with a broken heart & still never stopped loving. I used to think how blind she must be to support her children after everything thing they have done... but as I have grown & watched my own children grow I realized that no matter what they do, all I know is how to love them. Her house is still the safest place in the world to me, the smell of tea brewing on the stove & that familar cookie jar that didnt just hold regular cookies, but magical ones that were like sweet little bandaids for your soul... for when you skinned your knee, or your boyfriend broke your heart. She calls me JoEllen sometimes & laughs at her forgetfulness, Im scared to death of the day she doesnt know who I am, or how she has taught me to be the woman I am today.
And then there is my spiritual mom... I dont know how many people have this kind of woman in their lives, & if you dont then I truly feel sorry for you...
This is the woman who will spend hours on her knees, talking to God when you thought he wouldnt listen.
This is the woman who showed me what is was to forgive. I was an angry confussed girl when Glenda came into my life, she gave me a chance to find who I wanted to be, she prayed over Chris & I the day we were married, she was there for the birth of our children, & she is one of those people that even though we no longer see each other everyday we can pick up where we left off & laugh till we cry!
A simple thank you to these women seems so pale... so insignificant... but when I think of each of them & what they have done for me, the depth of that makes me speachless...
Thank You.
je t'aime ♥ tawny
1 comment:
Tawny, this is a beautiful post. You were blessed indeed.
Thank you for sharing
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