I feel like I should have something profound to say on Mother`s Day. I tried to think of special memories of Mother`s Day when I was a child. But I could think of none. Was it so commercialized back then (in the dark ages)? Yet when I think of my mother, I have memories that surely qualify for a special place on Mother`s Day.
First, there’s lardie cake. Has anyone else heard of this or is it a family recipe, perhaps finding its way down from my Scottish grandmother? My mother rolled out bread dough, spread it with lard (I`m sure that`s how she did it even though it sounds gross), sprinkled it with white sugar, folded it up and rolled it out again. She rolled it out several times that way. Baked in a loaf, it was sweet, crisp and delicious. And back then we didn`t worry about our arteries.
I was six or seven when I got my tonsils out. My throat hurt enough to cut glass with. I remember how my parents brought me home from the hospital and put me on the couch outside their bedroom. I suppose it was so they could watch me. At the time I thought it meant I was extremely ill. I woke in the night with my throat so dry and painful I could hardly open my mouth. Somehow I managed to call—or more likely, whisper—for my mother. I`m amazed she heard, but she did, and brought me cool water to soothe my throat. There is something special about knowing your mother will let you disturb her sleep and come to your side in the middle of the night.
One thing I thank my mother for almost every day is how she taught us about God. She encouraged us to memorize verses. To this day I remember the one I committed to my memory. How wise of her to recognize how much our young minds would retain.
My mother liked to draw with colored pencils. One of my fondest memories is picking wild flowers and taking them to her. A few hours later we`d return to find the flower drawn in colorful, accurate detail. She sketched butterflies, moths, and caterpillars as well. On the top shelf above my desk I have a picture she did of a wild rose.
Maybe that`s my Mother`s Day present to her—remembering her with love.