WQ #19: May 10: MOTHER’S DAY/ROYAL PURPLE
“The origins of Mother’s Day as celebrated in the United States date back to the 19th century. In the years before the Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children.
…The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. …In 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.”
(Anna Jarvis) soon grew disillusioned, as Mother’s Day almost immediately became centered on the buying and giving of printed cards, flowers, candies and other gifts. …By the time of her death in 1948 Jarvis had disowned the holiday altogether, and even actively lobbied the government to see it removed from the American calendar.” History Channel
“The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation.”
—James E. Faust
Happy Wednesday, and welcome to #WQ. Here’s your chance to showcase your photos, poems, thoughts, and stories about growing. All you need is one awesome quote. Feel free to skim, but don’t skip the very end where your posts are highlighted! Please take time to read at least a few of the other links in this party.
Mom’s church. She directed the children’s choir, played the organ, taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, and served as a deacon. We played tic-tac-toe in the choir loft when we weren’t singing, went to Sunday School, and helped with VBS.
Some Mothers Correct Your Grammar
Does this sound bad to you? Vince didn’t mind it at all. It made my teeth ache.
“Mage won the 149th Kentucky Derby after a week in which seven horses died at Churchill Downs, two of them in races yesterday.”
NY Times
How exactly does one race dead horses?
Inconvenient Motherhood
“Motherhood is the exquisite inconvenience of being another person’s everything.”
—Unknown
This is not a new photo, but she stuck in my mind as one who had been inconvenienced a time or two.
A Mother’s Hopes and Dreams
“Motherhood is the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It’s huge and scary – it’s an act of infinite optimism.”
—Gilda Radner
Most mothers want the best for their children. It breaks my heart when they don’t. It is also heartbreaking when the children don’t want it for themselves and lose hope.
Walking in the midst of one of the most opulent areas of the country, I met Dan. He sat on a bench along the side of the bikepath outside our little condo in Scottsdale.
As a mother, her dreams must have been dashed at some point. Dan was very polite and well spoken. After confirming that he is homeless, I asked him how he chose the items he took with every day in a grocery cart with a heavy chain attached to the bottom.
“It’s hard,” he answered.
Choosing what to throw and what to keep is one of the hardest decisions people have to make every day. My grandmother kept everything. She said she might need it someday. Her basement attested to that belief and the stuff was climbing up the stairs before she left her home. Dan didn’t have that option.
“The broom is a big item. Why do you have that?”
“Some of the places I find to sleep are pretty dirty. I have to sweep them off first.
“What about the tarp?”
“I use it for cover if it’s raining, or sometimes under me.
He started to get animated as he talked about his stuff.
“I have some food in there. I have two chairs. The blue one cost $89 and it rocks. The other one cost $10 and I put my feet in it when I sleep. It’s very comfortable.”
“Why don’t you fold your tarp? You’d have more room in your cart,” I asked sensibly.
“People take my stuff. I don’t want them (other homeless people) to see what’s in my cart. I’ve been robbed 20 times in the last ten years.”
Ten years! You’ve been homeless for ten years! Why are you homeless?”
He seemed intelligent and had been writing in what looked like a journal to me when I reached him and we said good morning.
“I broke up with my fiancé ten years ago (age 46). It was partly my fault. Now I don’t have a job. I can’t stand the bosses telling me things. I can’t stand holding a sign in 114-degree heat. Now I can’t afford to live in a home.”
“It’s hard when you don’t have shelter.”
“I would never live in a shelter!”
“I just meant a place inside to live.”
“Oh yeah, it’s hard. It’s hard to keep clean. That’s why my skin is so dry and…”
His voice faded away as he swiped at his arm.
“You have nice hair.”
He rubbed his head like you rub any kid who has his hair cut in a butch cut. It bounced back into place instantly.
“My father’s hair was cut in a butch. I try to keep mine cut in a butch. He had his in a butch his whole life. I’m just like him. He left when I was three. I just imagine that he kept his hair in a butch all his life.”
My heart went out to Dan. He asked for nothing. I had nothing in my pocket to give him but my phone, car key and the key to our condo pool gate.
He was leaving when I walked back by. I don’t think he saw me as he pushed his cart up a hill. If he saw me, he didn’t look at me or call out to acknowledge me. I heard him say good morning to another passerby as he trudged on.
As I continued on my path, the mother in my heart trudged after him dreaming a better life for him.
Blankets of Memories
“A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.”
—Princess Diana
I had all the childhood diseases that have vaccines to prevent them now. Each time I got sick, Mom had a special comforter she let me use, velvet on one side and silk on the other, with fringe all the way around it. She bought it when she was a young woman working in a department store. It was her treasure.
I cried when I threw up on it. Mom never got mad, just cleaned it up. I eventually loved it to death like the Velveteen Rabbit.
Grandma had a quilt that she loved until Great-grandma made Mom a blue one. Then she complained that she didn’t love the colors in hers.
Mom laughed, “Those were your colors in the thirties. My quilt is my colors.”
“A mother’s love is more beautiful than any fresh flower.”
—Debasish Mridha
More Motherly Purple Pictures
Pink is the New Purple
Our bloggers’ meetup this month was at Schmooze, not Snooze. Nancy made sure I got it right this time by including a map in our texts. Yay! If we combine Janet’s blue (she didn’t get the memo) and the rest of our pinks, voilà PURPLE! We all loved Jodie’s hat and hair.
I loved the mood and excitement created by being outside on the patio as opposed to the dark colors inside. We had a round table instead of a rectangular one, which allowed us to all look at each other. That created a mood of togetherness that translated to the fun of taking pictures after the meal!
So how appropriate is royal purple for mothers?
My grandmother loved Queen Elizabeth because she was born at nearly the same time as my mother. My mother was my queen, so I think purple is a great color for Mother’s Day, though I prefer pink. Mom preferred blue. So, together, we make the perfect Mother’s Day color – purple. 🙂
Last Week’s Featured Bloggers on Gardens
- Fresh Cup of Coffee – great parenting post
- Keep It Alive – the cost of growing wise
- Lady Lee – Bits and pieces of her wonderful adventures in life
- Second Wind Leisure – unforgettable wedding photos of her daughter’s wedding.
- This Is Another Story – How does your garden grow?
Your Post Goes Here
- A FRESH CUP OF COFFEE – MOTHER’S DAY CONVERSATION
- LADY LEE – TRIBUTE TO MOM
- LOVING LIFE – READ THIS AND GET A MOM CRUSH
- SECOND WIND LEISURE – SACRED SPACES
- SECOND WIND LEISURE – PURPLE PREVIEW
- THIS IS ANOTHER STORY – CRANKY MOM GETS A GREAT POEM
WQ #19 Inspired by
- Lens Artist Photo Challenge #248 – Mood
- FOTD – dahlias – Cee’s favorite!
- Cell Pic Sunday – The Tower of London
- Sunday Stills – Sacred Places
- Natalie’s Weekend Coffee Share & PPAC – coming Friday
- Thursday Doors – historic doors in Simsbury, CT
Upcoming and Ongoing on Always Write
Lots of love to all of you and best wishes for a wonderful week.
- WQ #20: May 17: HERITAGE/INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY
- WQ #21: May 24: HONORABLE
- WQ #22: May 31: MIDPOINT/WRITER’S CHOICE/DOUBLE DIP CHALLENGES
- #DICKENSCHALLENGE started February 7th. Join Yvette Prior, Trent McDonald, and me in reading ONE – not THREE Dickens’ novellas by June 9th. Donna from Retirement Reflections posted an excellent review on her challenge, What’s On Your Bookshelf this month.
Marsha Ingrao Always Write 
84 responses to “#WQ #19: How Appropriate is Royal Purple for Mothers?”
Hi Marsha – this was a heart warming post and was so well layered with colors, mother, love, and the interview with Dan.
Wow, he was robbed 20 times? tsk.
Thanks for sharing this post
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That must be what he said, but I didn’t verify it. 🙂
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Interesting the history about Mother’s day – I read a little poster about it at the AAA when we went it to renew our membership there.
I’ve had three mothers; on died young, one left because she felt she wasn’t being treated fairly, and the third was sort of a child herself. Each had their own lessons – that’s all I’ll say. 🙂
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I’m sorry one of your mothers died young, Jules. The other two must not have been cut out for the job. It is a huge job, and so many young people are not prepared to take it on. Unfortunately, the innocent child, in this case, you, suffer.
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A great tribute post. Your mother looks like a strong independent window! Love the photos.
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She was strong and independent. In some ways we were two parts of a whole. We depended on each other. She was an only child and I was the first grandchild. In some ways we were like sisters when we were with her parents.
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Beautiful post Marsha, such a gorgeous tribute to your mum.
How sad about Dan. My husband always speaks to homeless people about their lives too.
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My husband usually buys them lunch or something. I did not do that. I think I should have offered to at least pray for him, but I didn’t do that. We had a great interview, though.
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What a wonderful tribute to Mothers! I caught sight of your Smile (glad that Vince is feeling better) on Trent’s pace and just had to pop in to say Hey! Saw the photo earlier this week from your Blog Friends meetup – envious and so delighted with your smiles!
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You would love them. We have so many laughs together. It is like meeting old friends even on the first setting. I wish you were closer, Ju-Lyn!
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I know, I wish I were closer too! I love all these meetups happening all over!
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I wish you were, too, Ju-Lyn. You would have such fun.
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Hi Marsha,
Here’s my post
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Lovely post. Mom is the go to for everything-even advice. I’ll post on your blog when I get to my computer.
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Thanks a lot Marsha 😍
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[…] Always Write […]
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I didn’t know some of that stuff about Mother’s Day history. Thanks for sharing.
Sadly, my mother passed in 2020. I find I miss her a bit more on Mother’s Day since we can’t carve out time for a good chat. My own boys asked me what I would like and I requested extra hugs and time to play a board game together.
Mother’s day wishes to all the female caregivers in the world.
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I’m so sorry. The loss is too recent and still painful, though our moms stay with us for a lifetime of memories. You are too sweet to remember care givers, too. There are a lot of them in the world.
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Hi Marsha – I loved all the pink and purples – and the photos of you and Jodie made me smile. Some interesting stories that you shared too and such a reminder of how blessed we are in comparison to people like Dan.
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I know – we are blessed. Isn’t Jodie so cute? I love her outfits. I need to lose about 40 pounds to look that good in clothes again. Dream on, Marsha!
Hope your hip is feeling well. I enjoyed your post so much this week.
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Marsha, Thank you for your weekend coffee share. A loving tribute to your Mom, beautiful purple photos, a touching story about Dan and another fun bloggers’ meetup. You did a fantastic post meeting the various photo and blog challenges.
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From one Blog Buddy to another Blog Buddy (that’s you) I loved this post! Seeing your Mom, her church, the rich purple pictures and seeing all of us!
Have a blessed weekend!
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Thanks, Nancy. You and Jodie took the cutest picture. What cuties you are – we all are! LOL It was fun and we are going to miss you greatly until you come back this winter. 🙂 Meanwhile we will keep in touch by blog. 🙂
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Aren’t you the sweetest! Thank you!
And I am going to miss my Blog Buddies! We have such fun!
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We will have fun again, Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise. 🙂
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This is a lovely post, Marsha. Sometimes, it’s the very simple things mothers do that make the world a better place. It’s hard to estimate how much love they bring. Here’s wishing a Happy Mother’s Day to all moms, even if the holiday has grown outside its intended scope.
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I think it is long past the overgrown stage. So much so that I can enjoy it without guilt. For years I felt badly about not being a physical mother, but I’m past that stage too, and enjoy a myriad of “children.”
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Hi Marsha, this is a wonderful post and I’m please you chose purple for it. Terri also has purple for her Sunday Stills this week. I really enjoyed all the quotes and the pictures of your meeting with your blogger friends.
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Thanks, Robbie. Our Blogger Buddies, as Nancy has dubbed us in her post, is a great joy to all of us. We are meeting once a month now. It’s always new and fresh. 🙂
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You are very lucky to be able to do that. I only know two fellow South African bloggers and they both live in Cape Town.
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We are so lucky. I’ve never been able to touch base with bloggers so easily.
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[…] week’s Wednesday Quotes is a tribute to all the mothers out […]
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Great post, Yinglan. 🙂
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I loved eery word of this as it encompassed so many mom things. The story of Dan is one you will remember and I hope you run across him again. I have a story that was not funny at the time, but later it would be. I worked with families in crisis. A few were homeless. I so badly wanted them to all find success in their lives. Success looks different to all of us and even if it meant a roof over head, that was success. One day, I was driving into town and I saw one of my “dads” with his kids holding signs for food. He saw me as I made a u-turn, and ran with the kids in tow. I chased him. I knew they weren’t hungry, they lived with the grandfather. He only had them hold signs because he wanted money. When I asked him why he ran he said, because I knew you would be disappointed in me. lol. #mommode I gave the kids a bag of carrots and sent them home. Its a far longer story, but you reminded me of it in your post.
They meet up photos are fun. it was a fun day. Good thing for Janet to bring purple to our lives. lol I look forward to next time too.
PS it was nice to view your mama with her sunshiny disposition, like her daughter.
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What a wonderful comment and story! One reason I don’t give money to random vagrants is just that, you don’t know. I give through other organizations. It’s hard not to, though. Sometimes you just have to, it seems! Our own lives are so blessed.
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yes. Waking up everyday with a grateful heart…
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amen to that!
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I don’t know how you do it, but managing so many challenges always seems to come out right!
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It works when I’m in the “mood!” LOL
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😀
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Wonderful photos and quotes! I especially like the one about motherhood being an exquisite inconvenience. Thank you for including Dan’s photo and story – it’s too easy to forget that homeless and others who are marginalized are real people with a story.
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Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Kym. He asked me why I wanted his photo. I told him that it was because I thought he was interesting. I don’t feel comfortable in most situations approaching a group of homeless people. But he was approachable, and not on anything.
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I loved reading your post, Marsha and kudos for having so many different challenges on the go. It feels just like one perfect unit.
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Thank you Sofia. Like I told Leya, I was in the “mood” and it worked! 🙂 LOL
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wow, such brilliant post, Marsha 🙂 from the history, your mom’s church, the homeless, purple photos, etc. all great! Happy Mother’s Day to you and all mothers in the world ❤
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Thank you Lady Lee. That’s high praise and I accept it with honor. You made my day! I can’t wait to see what your post is for this week.
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Adorable post, Lady Lee! 🙂
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wow, what an amazing post Marsha, from the history of Mothers Day, your mom’s sunny hair and spirit, your heartfelt gesture to Dan, your pictures with your blogging sisters,. in my dreams I’m with you! Great colors, pics, quotes … love it all. This quote with the purple haired lady..
““Motherhood is the exquisite inconvenience of being another person’s everything.”
Love it!
💞
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Thank you Cindy. I should write a poem about her. I might someday.
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You’re welcome and that would be awesome!
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🙂
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How special to own your grandmother’s quilt. It’s a treasure.
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I think so. I have Mom’s blue one, too, but I like Grandma’s better. 🙂
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Lucky you!
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I am very blessed to have these treasures. They aren’t elegant or even in great shape, but they carry a lot of love.
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A big lot of wows Marsha 🙂
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Wow, thanks, BB.
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What a great bit of tidbit and loved our meet up. We definitely need to plan the next one,
OOXX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
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We can do one in Prescott, but I’d rather wait until July after our house is finished with it’s remodel. I’m up for anything though, really.
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That’s a wonderful idea to wait.
XOXO
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What do you think about going to the Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale in June? I know that Donna had also mentioned going to her home at some point. June might be nice for that, too.
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I love everything you did with this post, Marsha! Remembering our mothers is now how we spend our Mother’s Day in this time of life. My oldest daughter is setting up some massage sessions for me, woohoo! I like how you tied in your mom’s church into the Sunday Stills challenge, too. My mom loved coming to our church when she used to come to visit us in Sacramento, especially during the holidays. Your purple images are so rich and gorgeous, of course, I love the purple Prescott fountain! The AZ blogger meet-up looks so fun, I’m glad you are all able to meet up–thinking of a future visit when John comes to visit Scottsdale next year.
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He was in our our very first meet-up. I know he will fit right in to whatever we plan. I’d like to do one at the Butterfly place V & I found on Sunday.
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A great tribute to your mother!
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Thank you, Elke. She was a wonderful mother. 🙂 (Not that I’m prejudiced!)
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😊
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[…] Wednesday Quotes […]
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Talking to the homeless helps them. It is a sign of our failure as a society that people have no where to call home we have failed every human being in this position.
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It is a sad state. I had a long talk on the computer with a friend from Australia. She pointed out how difficult it is to get a job when you have no address and no phone.
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People who say that the homeless should just get a job overlook this fact. I think it’s Finland that has made finding people a home an absolute priority.
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That’s good. Do they tend to stay in them. Sometimes they don’t like the restrictions.
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It seems to be working. When you look around the world at how different countries successfully address problems, it would seem sensible to adopt these policies more widely. For example Norway on prisoner reoffending rates, Finland on education, Portugal on drug policy and Great Britain on gun control.
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It’s so hard to get people to agree with each other, let alone discuss practices that work, LOL.
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Awesome photos and quotes Marsha. Thanks for the mention
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Thanks, Sadje. 🙂
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You’re welcome
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It was another grand meeting even if I did wear blue. 😉. Being both a grammar and a horse person, that section about the horses dying caught my eye, especially “two of them in races yesterday.” I I understand why that sounds odd, but if you know something about horse racing, you can guess what happened. The horses (and I checked online to be sure) were injured during the race and had to be euthanized, probably on the track. So they did die during the races, just not the way you imagined and the grammar would be correct.
Grammar makes me think of my mom whose grammar was always right. We’d often hear something grammatically “off” and just look at each other. I still hear and see those things but don’t have her to share them.
Lovely Mother’s Day post and memories, Marsha.
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Thanks, Janet! You looked great in blue, but I laughed at your comment during lunch, “Did I miss the memo?” That bit about the horses being euthanized during the race is so sad. How did you handle such a sad state of affairs?
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I only know about horses being euthanized during a race, for instance if they break a leg or something similar. I’ve never seen it nor do I want to. But when you have an animal, at some point, as you know, you either have to have them put down or they die naturally. It’s an unfortunate part of life of owning an animal.
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It is, and I’ve been through it too often this year. 🙂
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🥲. I know.
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Thanks for the link, Terri. 🙂
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[…] for Denyse Whelan’s WW and Pics, Marsha’s Wednesday Quotes, Dawn’s spring festival, Cee’s FOTD, and Cee’s […]
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