Thank God it’s Monday, again. I personally look forward to all Mondays, as they’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with everyone! Therefore, happy Monday to one and all.
Yesterday officially celebrated Mother’s Day but I think mothers should be celebrated and honored throughout the whole month of May (and every day). As usual, I spent the weekend reminiscing about my mom and grandmas, taking a trip down Memory Lane, as I went through all of their old photo albums and scrap books that I inherited.
I thought about how much they, each, have influenced me and taught me as I was growing up and, especially, after I had my own children. I miss them all so much. Mothers are our first and most influential imprint – nurturing us, teaching us, and, in essence, molding who we become as adults.
According to a blog post at UNFoundation.org, Five Things to Remember on Mother’s Day, they “know how important mothers are in promoting prosperity, success, and growth in communities around the world.” Check out the five important things, about which they recommend we reminisce every Mother’s Day.
‘My mother is another good example I’ve followed. Her best gift and her greatest asset is that she’s always been a patient listener and a wise advisor. She was absolutely loyal to my father…The world could turn [its] back on her children, but she would always be there for them when we needed her. She’s given me an example that’s going to be tough to equal.’ – Gloria Pitzer, This is not a Cook Book (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 8)
I could say the same for my mom, as she did for hers (above). Mothers deserve honor and celebration more than anyone else in our lives. Even though Mother’s Day was yesterday, EVERY day is a great day to honor (and re-honor) our mothers. I try to honor my mom every Monday, in these blog posts.
Moms are the strongest people among us – in more ways than one. When you consider the whole birthing process that women endure, to begin with, my mom believed that mothers knew better than anyone what the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, meant when he said, “that which does not kill you, makes you stronger.”
Mothers and daughters share a special and unique bond. I think that’s especially true when grandchildren come into the picture, as that’s when I most understood why Mom did all that she did, in raising me and my siblings – when I had my own children.
That next generation put our relationship on a whole new level, as I imagine the same happened for her and her mom when she had kids. I know it’s so for me and my daughter, especially after she had a child of her own, too. Mom used to always say, loud and proud, “grandchildren are a blessing!” In my biased opinion, I must agree.
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
No Laughing Matter (circa 1970s)
JUST A HOUSEWIFE AND A PRO!
AS A ‘SUBURBAN HOUSEWIFE’, I fail to see how anyone could classify my routine as ‘dull’! For one thing, everyone knows that the mother of an active family has no routine! We’re lucky if we can get our slippers on the right feet first thing in the morning.
In fact, we’re lucky if we can even find those slippers, having to, first, plow through an undergrowth of Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs on the way to the kitchen, where we must witness testy debates over who gets the [prize] in the box of [cereal] and why a 40-year-old man refuses to take the Donald Duck Thermos in his lunch…
What’s wrong with a quest for a roll of Scotch tape that’s your very own or having the phone ring and the call is for you instead of your teenager? [Margaret Mead’s] working definition [of a ‘first-class’ woman, not being a housewife or homemaker,] is a ‘trained, competent, professional woman’.
Now, I’d be the last one to contradict an expert, but in defense of women who become wives and mothers… we have had training (although much of it’s on the job), are extremely competent and are professional [according to Webster’s dictionary] in that we have ‘a vocation requiring knowledge of some department of learning or skill’…
If you don’t think it takes learning or skill to varnish a complex-of-disorder with enough love and efficiency that husbands and children grow up with security and comfort, drop around my kitchen some Sunday night…
No matter what they tell us [working-outside-the-home homemakers] about turning our kids over to a day care center, there’s nothing like coming home from school to know that Mom’s in the kitchen, whipping up a pitcher of Tang and a plate of [Hopeless Twinkles©].
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, there weren’t readily available services for chefs, maids, laundresses, nannies, teachers, chauffeurs, personal shoppers, secretaries, counselors, nurses, groundskeepers and gardeners – people did for themselves – usually done by the mothers of the families, for the most part.
The “work” of mothers and homemakers, as well as the value of their time, is often taken for granted by their families. The services they provide, such as those mentioned above, can earn a substantial salary in the open market. Additionally, however, homemakers also contribute a lot more to the home and family of which no amount of money can compensate.
The value of our time changed many decades ago, when both parents had to start working to make ends meet, especially for the homemaker. We’ve always had about 16 “waking hours” in our days, every day. At some point, we started prioritizing them differently.
Homesteading became a dying skill among the newer generations, who opted to spend their time differently in exchange for paying for modern conveniences. Now, self-sufficiency is making a comeback.
My mom wore many hats, while working and simultaneously raising a husband and five kids. One of my favorite things about my early life and how I was raised is how much both of my parents positively influenced and inspired me – especially Mom.
We had our differences, at times, but I‘m lucky to have had her as my mom. I (as well as everyone else) can continue to learn from her timeless writings – her legacy of love. That’s what I enjoy now – sharing those memories and lessons with you.
According to Porcshe Moran, in her timeless article, ‘How Much is a Stay-At-Home Parent Worth?’, as seen at Investopedia.com, a homemaker [aka: stay-at-home-parent] could earn as much as $178,201, annually, given the 2019 data she obtained from Salary.com.
With the rising cost of inflation over the past five years, it would be worth even more today. The picture above shows the data I, too, gathered from Salary.com and Indeed.com; regarding the average salaries paid, in Michigan, for those afore mentioned homemaker skills.
MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Mixed Blessings – Recipes & Remedies (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; March 1984, p. 15)
KITCHEN DESIGN
I’M VERY PARTIAL TO my kitchen because it is the one place in our home where I feel the most comfortable! Whether I’m there alone, working on a recipe, or sitting at my desk, looking for inspiration on a new article I’m writing, or sharing a cup of coffee with a neighbor or a friend, who’s dropped by – it’s my favorite room!
I have a desk in the kitchen right next to the [sliding glass] door…that overlooks the yard. Our daughter, Debbie, and our son-in-law, Jim, gave me a flowering Crab [Apple] tree last Mother’s Day, which they planted right in the middle of the yard.
I can enjoy it’s flowers each spring; also the very long bare, red branches during the autumn and it’s snow-covered limbs all winter. It’s my sundial, by which I observed the seasons and the changes involved with this natural wonder.
While the Scotch pines around this little tree never change, never go through the transition of bud to blossom to barren branches and then buds again, I can see the contrasts that are parallel to our own personal predicaments.
Some things, places – and yes, even people – never seem to change, while others go through budding and blossoming and withering away, only to come right back to life again in the sunshine of human kindness; as does my tree, in the sunshine of the seasons.
LAST THOUGHTS…
Additionally, as the second Monday in May, today also observes… National Women’s Checkup Day. Relatedly, it’s… National Stroke Awareness Month and Older Americans Month, as well.
I‘d like to re-mention how Mom’s love for writing and journaling helped her, to some degree, in dealing with the dementia, from which she suffered, following a double stroke and grand mal seizure, during the summer of 2015.
The love she held for writing was as much a form of therapy for Mom’s memories as it was just a natural reflex for her to relax, reflect, and meditate. A lot about which Mom wrote, was regarding finding the blessings in any given day or moment; good and bad, alike.
Mom was raised to be grateful, everyday, for everything – not just for Life’s gifts, but also for Life’s challenges, which she confronted and overcame, empowering her to do more rather than discouraging her to fail. Failure was never an option her faith would allow in.
Mom penned her feelings and memories in journals for most of her life. My younger sister, Cheryl, inherited all of her journals that still existed. Some were lost or destroyed over the years. However, Mom also recorded a lot of her feelings, stories, and memories in all of her publications, as well.
Over the past six years, since Mom passed away, I’ve really enjoyed re-reading all of her “Food for Thought” memories that are sprinkled throughout her cookbooks and newsletters. I still use all my books and newsletters, from Mom, all the time.
IN CLOSING…
In honor of TODAY, also being National Apple Pie Day, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Neat Man Market’s Open-Face Apple Pie”; as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 237). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition)].
P.S. Food-for-thought until we meet again, next Monday…
May’s foodie observances include… American Cheese Month, National Asparagus Month, National Barbecue Month, National Egg Month, National Hamburger Month, National Salad Month, National Salsa Month, and National Strawberry Month.
Some other May observances include… Better Speech and Language Month, National Get Caught Reading Month, National Photography Month, National Preservation Month, National Recommitment Month, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The second full week in May (12th-18th for 2024) celebrates, among other things… National Salvation Army Week, National Bike to Work Week, and American Craft Beer Week.
Today is also… National Crouton Day and National Fruit Cocktail Day. Plus, National Etiquette Week starts today and runs through Friday [always the 2nd full week in May (13th-17th for 2024)].
Tomorrow is… National Decency Day and National Buttermilk Biscuit Day.
May 15th, is… National Chocolate Chip Day. Plus, as the third Wednesday in May (for 2024), it’s also… National Juice Slush Day.
Thursday, May 16th, is… National Barbecue Day, National Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day, National Love a Tree Day, National Mimosa Day, and National Biographer’s Day.
May 17th, is… National Pack Rat Day, National Cherry Cobbler Day, National Walnut Day, and National Idaho Day. Plus, as the 3rd Friday in May (for 2024), it’s also… National Pizza Party Day and National Bike to Work Day.
May 18th, is… National Visit Your Relatives Day, National No Dirty Dishes Day, and National Cheese Soufflé Day.
Sunday, May 19th, is… National Devil’s Food Cake Day.
…20 down, 32 more to go!
