Mothers

I attended my sister’s memorial on the weekend, and I was reminded of how much a mom does. Once the children come, life becomes very busy quickly. I am thinking of myself and my sisters as I write this – what we did.

My sisters and I all had 3 children around the same ages – a little chaotic when we would get together having 9 children under the age of 7. But you just get through it and now it is like where did that time go? We are all grandmothers and helping our children raise their children. Our energy level has changed, and we don’t accomplish in the evening what we used to.

As my sister and I visited this weekend we talked about how much work we did in the evenings after we put the kids to bed. We would do laundry, bake cookies, pack lunches, vacuum and straighten up the house. Having 3 small children meant there were lots of toys and items on the floor constantly. I’m sure we were never asleep before midnight and up and at it by 6 to get the day going. Working full-time and figuring out how to get your children to school, daycare, skating, piano lessons and whatever else we felt was important for our kids to be involved in. And don’t forget about the shift working mom – throwing another wrench into the schedules. Grandparents, neighbours and friends were all a part of helping out at times.

Here is a list of a few of the things I know we did as moms:

§ Groceries – and there was no curbside pickup. Take 3 children in a shopping cart, make room for groceries, keep the kids in line, keep the stuff out of the cart you don’t need or can’t afford.

§ Keep an ongoing list of items that run out in the house. Such as toilet paper. Who wants to run out of that necessity? As we discovered during Covid – no one wants to be out of TP. Thanks mom.

§ Toothpaste, salt, pepper, all of those everyday items that just always seem to be available in a household. How do they never seem to run out?

§ Homemade goodies for lunches and lunches that were ready to go out the door as the kids got on a bus or walked to school. Thanks mom.

§ Event planner – let’s not forget about the birthday parties, Halloween parties and other special events that you may have planned for your kids. Birthday cakes, entertainment to keep 10-20 kids entertained. And this was way before every child had an Ipad, tablet or some type of electronic device to keep them occupied. We actually played games. Thanks mom.

§ Meal planner. What to have for breakfast, lunch and supper every day of the week. It is no wonder that I am really tired of thinking about what to make for supper. Cooking is no longer a priority as I get closer to retirement. Someone else can cook.

§ Cleaning and laundry. OMG. 3 sets of small clothes every day, and sometimes 2 or 3 outfits per day per child. Some children just love to change clothes. And where are the clothes? On the floor of course. Clean or dirty – not sure so they go into the laundry basket. Thanks mom.

§ And of course, we all need to own a dog. Oh mom, we will water and feed the dog. Please, please can we have a puppy? We all know how long some of that lasts. Mom will feed and water the dog and let’s throw some exercise in for the dog too. Thanks mom.

§ Cleaning – it is amazing how dirty everything gets if you don’t keep up with it. The tubs, sinks, floors with muddy footwear, dog prints everywhere. We do our best to stop it at the front entry, but it just seems to get further into the house than you wanted it to.

§ Presents – who buys the gifts in the house for the special occasions? Usually mom. Who wraps those presents? Mom. Thanks mom.

§ Memory keeper – who remembers the special occasions that are coming up for family and friends? Birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Having a smart phone makes this a lot easier than it was 40 years ago. My sister that passed away was great at mailing out cards for these occasions – I am not very good at this at all. I missed my granddaughter’s birthday this past weekend. I did not get a card in the mail. She will get the belated card.

§ Where is an item in the house? We can give directions how to find something, but by the time you explain where it is, it is easier just to go get it yourself. And how many times do they come up empty handed? The item they need is unfindable for them. But when they do come up with that can of tomato paste it is like getting a “bingo”.

§ And being able to budget is a must. The cost of living has gone up substantially since raising our family. There were often times where it was cheaper to go the convenience store for milk instead of the grocery store. Grocery stores have a way of getting you to buy items you don’t always need. Whereas at the convenience store if you go in for milk you come out with just milk.

§ Scheduler – knowing what time and place your children have to be and coordinate the times and pickups.

§ And last but not least the person who knows where to put that band aid and hand out hugs and kisses throughout life. Thanks mom.

§ And just think of the resume you have built by being a mom. Never short sell yourself because you are a mom. Our skills are unlimited. It may not be a university degree, but it should be!

These are just a few of the things a mom does. Our minds are very busy planning and remembering the lives of our family. So many things that seem to just happen magically. As my sister and I looked back at all of the things we did to keep our young family going – it was like “I have no idea how I did it”. And we didn’t have a nanny to help us out or a grandparent two blocks away who could drop everything to come and help us. It was figure it out. And our husbands were around, but not always physically there depending on their job.

Am I complaining no. All I’m saying is appreciate your mom. Moms give up a lot to make sure their children have as much as we can possibly provide for them. And until you become a mom it’s easy to not notice all that is going on in the background.

Have a wonderful May and a Happy Mother’s Day.

I am leaving you with a song by Taylor Swift, she has so many but today I recommend listening to “The Best Day (Taylor’s Version)”. She is an amazing woman and artist.

Merle Lee Ann Pratt – merleleeannskitchen.com – Email: merleleeann@gmail.com

by Merle Lee Ann Pratt – Merle Lee Ann’s Kitchen, author of “A Baker’s Dozen”

Mothers

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