tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post2098025811842871055..comments2023-10-26T06:27:26.690-07:00Comments on Shear Bagatelle: For $50, tell me about your mother.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-38721068036758946642010-05-04T09:15:37.594-07:002010-05-04T09:15:37.594-07:00Thanks for the opportunity to share a little bit a...Thanks for the opportunity to share a little bit about my mom. This will be my third Mother's Day without her, so I will think of this tribute as my "card" to her. <br /><br />Dear Mom, <br /><br />Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for encouraging my strength and independence. Today, I'm grateful that you didn't blaze paths for me but insisted I take the lead.<br /><br />You didn't walk me to the school bus, but you watched from the window. You didn't drive in carpools, but you got me a bike. You didn't go clothes shopping with me, but you taught me to use the Singer and let me "borrow" your good shears. <br /><br />I was always such a fraidy cat -- I'd run home whining "But Mom.....But Mommmmmm they SAID, they THINK, they TOLD ME" and there you'd be, encouraging me to go back "out there". You'd say "Oh what do you care what people think." <br /><br />Well, I cared a lot about what people thought. A lot. You drove me crazy and made my stomach flip and my knees wiggle. But I learned to do things for myself.<br /><br />We would knit together. I remember that first winter well. There was an epic snowstorm and we were stuck inside for days. I was a 7 year old lefty, and you must have been in your late twenties :-) I sat by your side, and you let me snuggle in. "Watch me," you said. "Now here, you try it." You gave me 2 blue needles and some grey wool. I watched and twisted and watched again and tangled and watched again and stabbed myself and then I got it, sort of.<br /><br />I was so happy when you asked me if I'd knit you a brown scarf with some yarn from your big basket. And then you wore it all through the winter and spring.<br /><br />I swore I would be more nurturing, "different" when I had my daughter. But she came home from school, crying over a playground game, and without skipping a beat I said "Oh what do you care what people think", and I smiled. <br /><br />Thanks Mom, for all the adventures I would have missed if I stayed behind your skirt. <br /><br />I love you!Robynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909309793191033875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-54933633604131296322010-05-04T02:25:02.224-07:002010-05-04T02:25:02.224-07:00My mom has been a real inspiration to me. She gre...My mom has been a real inspiration to me. She grew up in one of the poorest areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains in VA. When a friend of hers lost her husband and became destitute Mom decided she would never let that happen to her family. She got a job and helped her friend. She continued to work and was one of the first in our area to be a working mom. Because of her and dad's salaries, my brother & I are the first in our family history to get a college education. Mom can grow anything. She brought home a few kiwis from the store and planted the seeds. When all the botanists said it was impossible for kiwis to grow in VA, my mom proved them wrong! She harvests so many kiwis each year she has to give away boxes full and make gallons of jam. One fond memory is when dad found 6 abandoned or orphaned wild baby rabbits in the yard. Mom created a rabbit formula on the stove. I don't know how she knew how to make or what she put in it, but it worked! She bought baby doll bottles and with some help from us fed them round the clock. They grew and thrived. She released them back into the wild. It was a great experience for a child to have. Once a high school friend of mine had a grand mal seizure on our front porch. We had never seen one before. Mom caught him as he fell and held him in her arms until it was over. She was calm, collected and gentle throughout. Two years ago she was diagnosed with bladder cancer, which the doctors feel she got from 30 years of breathing second hand smoke in the Pentagon where she worked. Bladder removal is one of the most difficult surgeries to undergo, but my 84 year old mom survived the 8 weeks in intensive care and hospital borne infection. She is 86 now and in good health. She has taught me that with determination, self confidence and hard work I can do anything I set my mind to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-11328056165308420162010-05-01T05:57:27.322-07:002010-05-01T05:57:27.322-07:00Nanamamah -- Your Mom sounds like mine! A "ta...Nanamamah -- Your Mom sounds like mine! A "take the bull by the horns" kind of woman. We really are lucky to share such great DNA!Deborah Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06550149157025831853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-2498826156067868912010-04-30T15:58:43.481-07:002010-04-30T15:58:43.481-07:00My Mom is one of the gamest, toughest women I'...My Mom is one of the gamest, toughest women I've ever met. She came to visit me once when I lived in another state. <br />"Why is your laundry hanging all over the bathroom?"<br />"The dryer is broken"<br />"Why aren't you hanging them outside?"<br />"No clothesline"<br />"hhmm. Where's the nearest hardware store?"<br />She went to the store, bought a shovel, concrete, pole, line, etc., came back, dug the holes, mixed the concrete and put up the poles. <br />She has this attitude and energy towards everything in life, and even though she is fast approaching 80, she is still doing more than most, volunteering for numerous organizations and provides respite care for disabled youth. <br />Amazing. I'm so grateful to share this gene pool.Nanamamahhttp://Ravnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-36966886283989638532010-04-29T15:41:34.045-07:002010-04-29T15:41:34.045-07:00my mother says "i could never create the way ...my mother says "i could never create the way you do"...but mom, it's because of you that i create!! <br /><br />mom taught me to sew before i could write...starting with a head scarf and always telling me "i'll buy all the fabric that you can sew", even though we sometimes had barely enough money to get by. i remember running my fingers through the cables on a blue cardigan she knit when i was little and thinking she had to be the most talented woman on earth!! <br /><br />and i still think so today....she was an amazing seamstress, mother, fabulous cook, school volunteer, bookkeeper to my fathers business and always a cheerleader for her three children....she's still always there to listen to my woes, telling me not to worry, things always get easier.<br /><br />she taught me to bake from scratch, press as you sew, clean up as you cook...and always remember to laugh. she's a jewel and a very precious one at that.kim venturahttp://kimmer56@juno.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-45050240099676468952010-04-27T07:05:53.630-07:002010-04-27T07:05:53.630-07:00My mother was simply the most intelligent, most ta...My mother was simply the most intelligent, most talented, most creative woman I will ever know. She could play several instruments at a professional level, though she was never a professional musician. She could analyze current events, especially politics and predict with amazing accuracy what people or parties were going to do/say next. She knit beautiful sweaters, and worked for many years as a professional steamstress, making party dresses and even wedding gowns. She had a huge clientele, many of whom became lifelong friends. She cooked the most delicious meals and grew the most beautiful flowers. And she was funny...I will never laugh as hard or as long as I did with my mother. I remember laughing so hard at something she said that I literally fell off the sofa, which only made us both laugh more. She has been gone a little over ten years now, and while I miss all of her amazing creative energy, what I miss the most is the laughter.Lauriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18338983050389000985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-58665031796186587822010-04-27T07:02:51.188-07:002010-04-27T07:02:51.188-07:00Bloberry, I didn't realize I was a nerd at tha...Bloberry, I didn't realize I was a nerd at that age! I didn't think it kicked in until I was...oh...17 or 18! My Mom (your cousin) read what I wrote about her and said that if she ever needs to get a job, she'll have me write her resume. <br /><br />You know, that reminds me, she's one heck of a writer, too! When we were kids we used to get such a kick out of the original birthday cards she'd create for us.<br /><br />When my older brother turned 11 she wrote this poem for him:<br />Your hair is long<br />Your clothes are mod<br />You're strictly Carnaby Street<br />But I'm the only one who knows<br />That underneath those pointed toes<br />You never wash your feet.<br /><br />I must have thought it was awfully funny because I haven't seen that card in 46 years and I still remember it.<br /><br />When we were teenagers and were driving her insane she used to write letters to an imaginary psychiatrist, Dr. Bastedo. They were absolutely hysterical. <br /><br />Before she ever met Alex, she sent him postcards from wherever she traveled with messages like, "Glad you're not here!" and "Thunder Bay hails your absence!" <br /><br />I guess that we can blame my Mom for how I turned out. When other kids would say, "My Mom's gone to the PTA meeting," I'd say, "My Mom's out in the backyard teaching herself how to use a crossbow."<br /><br />And do you know what? She got to be pretty darned good with that thing! She was the only mother in our suburban Toronto neighborhood who had her very own crossbow.Deborah Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06550149157025831853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-36617835674321246052010-04-27T06:43:14.504-07:002010-04-27T06:43:14.504-07:00Mary, it's wonderful that you transformed your...Mary, it's wonderful that you transformed your sad experience into something beautiful for your own family! I'm sure you are much loved and appreciated and that someday your children will also be wonderful parents!<br /><br />Regards,<br />DeborahDeborah Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06550149157025831853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-78776367938197760922010-04-27T06:23:40.124-07:002010-04-27T06:23:40.124-07:00Uhm I dont know how to go about this, My mother wa...Uhm I dont know how to go about this, My mother was a VERY sick woman with mental disorders, addictions, and so on. I was a burden and she ignored me most of life until she died when I was 26. But the wonderful thing is,, it had inspired me to be the BEST mom I can possibly be. I love all 4 of my kids in a way I NEVER thought I could love anyone. I hope when they are older that we still hold a close relationship. I love hearing what people do with thier moms or love about thier moms. It makes me happy for all the people who have them. What a great question and to take a few moments to share about thier love!!Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904634078635552185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-74107817084878292962010-04-27T06:22:09.288-07:002010-04-27T06:22:09.288-07:00Not commenting about my Mom, but I really enjoyed ...Not commenting about my Mom, but I really enjoyed reading about my cousin! Now I know where you get your natural curiosity. How cool. I remember sitting in your kitchen with you when we were 14-15 or so and watching you read through the Wall Street Journal. You explained to me exactly how that worked. LOL! This would be a nice addition to the family tree data. Happy Mom's day to you AND Mom! ~ JanJDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03592254276681819465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-10539009375696442272010-04-26T15:27:50.748-07:002010-04-26T15:27:50.748-07:00My grandmother is the one who raised me. She was ...My grandmother is the one who raised me. She was in her 40s when she decided that she needed to take care of my twin sister and my older brother and myself. She is an amazing woman. I wouldn't be who i am if it wasn't for her. She showed me how to craft and crochet. I can still go to her for questions. Everyone has their share of heartache, but she turned my heartbreak into something wonderful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4959902948863719059.post-56337076713004575892010-04-26T15:07:41.813-07:002010-04-26T15:07:41.813-07:00My Mom is an amazing knitter. She really had no c...My Mom is an amazing knitter. She really had no choice, since her mother, my grandmother, was a master knitter. The really amazing thing about my Mom is that she continues to knit, and to sew, despite being wheelchair-bound with MS, and being in constant pain from arthritis. She is always asking us what we would like her to knit next for us. We receive beautiful knitted gifts for every occasion...sometimes a pair of socks in our favorite colors, other times a sweater or hat. My Mom is a tribute to the healing power of knitting, and to unselfishly making gifts for others. I am thankful that she has passed along the love of knitting to me. I would give the gift certificate to her, so that she can buy yarn for her next project.debd94https://www.blogger.com/profile/08093224190995771375noreply@blogger.com