I am not a mother, a “real” mother, but like everyone else, I had a mother. And she loved me. And I loved her.
Many people have just the opposite situation. We all form relationships in which we have mother/child like contacts, and without these wonderful people in our lives, we would be lonely and/or unguided.
I was fortunate to have many generations of mothers on Mom’s side of the family. You can see the resemblance between all of us. I’m the grumpy looking one.
I admired my mother, and listened to her guidance. We shared secrets, dreams, ideas, friends, careers and interests. We traveled to Stonehenge and other places in England, the highlight trip of our lives.
I rarely let more than a few days go by when I was a young adult in which I didn’t call her. As she aged and moved closer to me, we saw each other daily, and those were precious years.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
What a tribute. You and your mother had a wonderful relationship. What a great model of mutual love and respect. I am blessed to still have my mom nearby. She is aging and I can see it, but she is still one of my best friends, prayer partners, and dreamers. She has a great sense of humor. When I dedicated Breathing on Her Own to her she cried. Then she looked up at me and said, “But in the book, I was dead!” (My whole family tries to see themselves in the book. What can I say) Anyway, I looked at her and said, “I hate to tell you this, Mom, but it gets worse. In my current work, you have Alzheimer’s.”
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That’s great! I’ve been saying the same kinds of things to my friends that I used as models – sort of. 🙂 Keep writing! 🙂
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What a wonderful thing to have so many generations of “moms” standing together. Heart warming!
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Thanks, Mary. I have one of my mother in the same type of picture with her great-grandmother, too. I’ll have to look it up for next year’s post. 🙂 Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by.
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I wouldn’t trade being a mother for anything, including wild literary success. Your sweet post is a tribute to your love for your mother. I miss mine, too.
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I think, in your case, you can have both, motherhood and wild literary success. They aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, I think that mothers have more to write about than non-mothers. Children keep our eyes open to another world that we don’t really live in.
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What a lovely post.
LOL on your grumpy facial expression. Doesn’t take away from your cuteness though.
{Hugs}
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You are sweet. Actually my upper lip was sewn down to my gum until I was seven. Unfortunately I still look unnecessarily grumpy when I don’t smile. It’s just my non-smile look. 🙂
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You don’t have to be a mother to be loved. And it’s so nice to see these beautiful photos of you and your mother.
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Thanks, Carol. You are right, and you don’t have to be a mother to love, either. What you miss by not being a mother are the fights that you have with those you live with over silly things like Brother looking at Sister at the dinner table. What could be more annoying than that? Or Sister HAVING to practice the piano, and play a piece over again when she KNEW it was a mistake in the music, not her playing! I’m sure you can recall a few times like that that makes mothering “real.”
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Yes, but when I see my beautiful daughters becoming amazing women who are achieving their dreams it makes all that worth it. And I’m happy to be able to share their successes with you.
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I read a good quote on FB that a friend of mine shared. Something like, “Motherhood is not so much what you do for your children as what you teach them to do for themselves.” I think you have done a marvelous job of this. 🙂
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Thanks. I’m a very proud mother.
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You are, and a great one too from my perspective! 🙂
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Beautiful tribute Marsha, it really shows how much you loved your mother.
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I did, and have been blessed with many friends to step in as children, grandchildren, and, of course, sisters, like my friend Leanne Cole. 🙂
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How lovely to have those generations of Mothers in your life plus that one special bond with your own mother.
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I had a wonderful childhood, Gallivanta. Thanks for reading! 🙂
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Such sweet photos of you and your mom, Marsha. You obviously have very happy memories and had a close bond with your dear mom. Love your grumpy little face. 🙂
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Thanks, Sylvia. We were very close. I loved all three of my moms, and poor Grandma Morris, my dad’s mom, got the crumbs of whatever was left over. I was the first and only child born on both sides of the family in 25 years. Does that explain why I’m so spoiled? Then Randy came along, and nobody knew quite what to do. The grandmothers took turns keeping me out of Mom’s way. I didn’t know who my real parents were until I started school! (JK, but not much!) I had a great childhood! 🙂
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Wow, no wonder you were so fussed over. 🙂 How blessed you were.
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I was. Growing out of it into adulthood was the bump. However, I’ve never grown out of my love for and trust of people, and, for the most part, they seem to return it..
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Love it Marsha May!
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Love my “family” I missed you yesterday. We are having lunch today, right?
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What a beautiful tribute to your mother, Marsha xxxx
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Thanks Dianne! 🙂
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