A few thoughts today

To write a post that sufficiently expresses my feelings for my mom would be the work of months. But today I've been thinking over some of my earliest, most cherished childhood memories, so I would like to share a few.
I have many, many individual memories of leaning my ear against my mother while she was talking or singing so I could hear her voice from inside her body. I loved this so much that even when I was older and she was on the phone with someone I would come lean against her so I could listen to her voice.

My mom played a game with me where she would touch my forehead and then move down my face saying "Floor-bumper, eye winker, tom tinker (cheek), nose dropper, mouth eater, CHIN CHOPPER!" and then tickle my neck while I squealed.

She doesn't think she has a good voice, but I loved it when my mom sang to me. One special, silly song I remember was called "Where is Thumbkin?" and went through all the fingers. It was an echo song, so it was easy for me to sing with her.

I remember going to a park when we lived in Washington and picking wild raspberries and blackberries. I don't think any actually made it into my margarine tub. My sister and I had very stained hands.

I remember my mom teaching me how to write my name on that great old lined paper with the dotted lines in the middle. I remember her trying to decide whether to spell it with an "i" or a "y".

I remember once when my mom left us sitting with daddy while she went up to bear her testimony in church. She told a story about us and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (don't remember what it was), and then at the end she bore her testimony and cried. I remember wondering why mommy was sad.

When my aunt got married I was 3, and I got to be the flower girl. My mom made a beautiful pink dress with little white polka dots, and I felt like a princess in it. It is hanging in Annalee's closet right now, and I can't wait until it fits.

We used to take walks around the apartment complex we lived in and managed, and look at the beautiful flowering white and pink trees. I don't know what trees they are, but they're everywhere in Washington.
My mom used to crochet a lot, and one of the coolest things she would make were Coke-bottle Christmas Trees. She made them for everyone, but somehow never kept one for herself.
They kind of looked like this, but way, way better.

She doesn't like to cook very much, but that doesn't mean she can't. She was famous for several distinctive dishes: sloppy joes (best recipe ever), Hawiian Delight cake, Danish Dessert (which always stained the serving spoon red), meat loaf, and french toast.

Mom invented the coolest game ever: the Spanking Game. The way you played it is that Mom would sit cross-legged in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, and we would try to run, shimmy, jump, or dive through the doorway without getting a playful swat on the rear. We screamed and laughed hysterically the entire time, and begged to play it often. It wasn't until we were adults that Mom confessed she had invented the game one day when she was too tired to do anything else, and a little stressed. It was her favorite game because we used a bunch of energy and she got to sit there! She is my role-model . . .

I am very grateful to my mom for teaching me to call all adults Mr. or Mrs. or Sister or Brother so-and-so unless they told me differently. Even when she got remarried to Ron VanderBeek we had the choice of calling him Mr. VanderBeek or Dad. She taught us to be respectful and polite.

When my mom was pregnant with my brother she told me she had a baby "under her shirt", so one day I opened the door on her when I knew she was getting dressed because I wanted to see the baby. What a disappointment!

Several times my mom let us help her make cookies. She would mix up the dough and then separate it into two metal bowls and let Sarah and I mix the chocolate chips in. I think some of the chocolate chips made it in ;)

My mom told me I was a good singer. Perhaps it was the memory she had of someone telling her when she was young that she couldn't sing that made her so determined to encourage me. In first grade we used to sing a patriotic song every day before the Pledge of Allegiance. At that age the kids (especially the boys) were starting to think it wasn't cool to sing, so they were mumbling or not singing at all. I decided to make up for their lack of volume by singing louder. In front of the whole class my teacher said, "Sandra, if you can't sing it right, please don't sing." I was shocked into silence. For the next couple hours and during recess I thought back over the song, and knew I had sung it right. Out of wounded pride I thought, "Fine! I'll never sing again!" but then I thought, "Mom said I am a good singer and she wouldn't lie to me!" So I kept singing. The next year I sang a solo in the Second Grade play and Mom rented a video camera so she could record it. I still have a copy of that tape, and guess what? I COULD sing!

My mom is one of the most influential people in my life, even now. Her opinions hold more weight with me than nearly any one else's. When she says something I don't agree with I have to evaluate it long and hard before I can discard it, because I value her wisdom so much. How lucky I am to have her near to give me advice on everything from houses to potty training.

And to play Floor-Bumper with her granddaughter.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!