Doing Mom Things.

This being Mother's Day got me to thinking about my mom.  I have good memories.  It is strange I suppose that most of my memories of Mom are ones of her doing "home" things on the farm.  No fancy dress, no memorable jewelry, no fancy anything..just farm stuff.  She, more likely than not, could be found wearing a simple house dress with her hair up in rollers covered by a kerchief. She cooked, cleaned, canned, ironed, washed, baked, sewed, crocheted and was always surrounded by kids..hers and many others. (Not bad for a city girl turned farm girl simply by marrying my dad!  She had a lot to learn!) She was just a mom doing mom things....and that is what made her special.  Mom things.  Things that no other person can do. I can tell you that anyone can bake cookies but they will never taste like those baked by a mom.  Anyone can sew a dress but it will never become a favorite like one sewn by a mom.  Anyone can crochet or knit a scarf but it will never be as warm as one made by a mom.  There is just something about that little extra love that is put into everything they do.

Mom holding one of her granddaughters.

That "little extra" is what makes something ordinary be extraordinary.  That little extra is what makes something special to me.  I have a small picture hanging in my kitchen that was hand cross-stitched by my mom.  She would sit in the evenings working on one project or another.  This was her "relaxation" time.  After supper, she would first work the crossword puzzles in the daily newspaper then either cross-stitch or crochet for an hour or so before bedtime.  The picture that is on my wall was a gift to me one Christmas.  She knew that I was just a farm girl through and through so when choosing a pattern, the rooster was a logical choice.  The picture is one of my favorite things that I have from her.  It has that little something extra as she put her love into when stitching it.  The rooster picture is still in the same green frame that she mounted it in and is actually still hung in the same place where she hung it in my house.  That was some twenty-five years ago.  It will most likely hang there for the next twenty-five if I have my way.

Cross-stitched picture made by my mom.

My wish for Mother's Day this year?  That everyone can have a mom that does "mom things".  One that puts love in everything she does.  One that instills love in those in her care whether they are her children or just some neighborhood kids that hang around her like chicks do a mama hen.  Happy Mother's Day to all moms doing mom things!