April 07, 2006
63
Judy & Guy | Fall 1973
Today is my mother's birthday. This is one of my favorite photos of her, and even though its been on my site before (way back in 2002), since my computer is dead and I can't scan any others, it will have to do. Luckily, I love it.
I called her this morning, on my way into work, and she said she'd almost forgotten it was her birthday but when she walked into her kitchen there was a card and a dozen roses waiting for her. (Good husband.)
It's hard to imagine my mom as 63 - it sounds old, I guess it is old - when she is so not old to me. There's a sameness about my mom, maybe we all have that sense when it comes to our parents, and even though in recent months I have to come to know her more as a person, with flaws and foibles of her own, she is my favorite person.
While I was in Florida my aunt told me that many, many years ago, when she and my mother were having a "row," (as she put it), my mother told her, "Well, Jane, I've disappointed you. And I'm sorry. But this is why it's important to remember that Jesus is the only person who will never, ever disappoint us."
When I was a teenager I didn't think my mother had anything important or valuable to say. I figured that I was smarter, and what could she teach me that I couldn't learn without her? It was a foolish and decidedly teenage philosophy and I am grateful that I outgrew it. But what I have learned as an adult is that my mother's outlook on life may be simple at times but her wisdom is far greater than I can ever hope to achieve. She sees things very clearly, most of the time, and she understands the human condition better than most. Her capacity for forgiveness is staggering. I have heard it many times that I am unaware of the fact that a lot of people's mothers are not like my mother.
Yes, she drives me crazy (whose mom doesn't?), but I am so thankful, so blessed, that I belong to her.
Posted by hannah at 02:42 PM
You look just like your mother... well, at least in that side profile picture of her you two look identical.
Posted by dpb on April 7, 2006 03:11 PMwow. i echo dpb.
i thought that was a photo of you. what a resemblance!
Posted by Mary Alice on April 7, 2006 03:13 PMWow. Those are some good genes there. What a great picture. Does this mean you're your Mom's "mini-me?"
Posted by Caitlin on April 7, 2006 04:35 PMI'll tell you now what I've told you before: Not all mothers clean when they go to their child's home.
Happy Birthday, Mama Fabb.
Posted by Sarah Irish on April 10, 2006 04:34 PM"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." - Mark Twain
Posted by George on April 10, 2006 08:03 PM
