Originally Posted on
On Mondays, the transition from a weekend of full-on family time to 8 hours of work in an office can be jarring. I would like to be more mindful of my transition by practicing active gratitude on this difficult day–offering thanks for the people, circumstances, and things in my life that help me feel grounded and blessed. I will begin with expressing my thanks for my mother.
My mother worked as a toxicologist and supervising scientist with the federal government for most of her professional life until she retired a little over a year ago. She got her Ph.D. in science in an era where women were rejected from medical school with their marital status cited as a reason for the rejection (that happened to her). She and I had a challenging relationship when I was in my teens and early twenties (two strong-willed females with a power differential will do that sometimes), and if you had told me then that we would live a five minute walk from each other and regularly spend hours together without it being forced or being a holiday, I might have laughed at you. But she regularly watches our children and my niece, selects thoughtful gifts for everyone in our household, contributes financially to our children’s college funds, and raves over food I cook (this is important to me).
Our relationship now is a source of joy, not just for my children (H recently told me, “Grandma is the only person I really love”–the honesty of the young, right?), but for me, too. Last week, when the blizzard made driving a nonstarter, the kids and I walked over to Grandma’s condo and assembled furniture for her and cried while watching Coco (J wants it noted he didn’t cry. That was just allergies.). It was a very enjoyable afternoon of listening to my daughter play with Grandma while my son built elaborate HotWheels tracks out of packaging materials. I didn’t even mind the frustration of assembling chairs with three million, bajillion parts (an actual count).
Our relationship changed to become more connected during three distinct periods: 1) When I lived abroad in Korea and wrote a blog about it that she regularly read, 2) When I became a mom in 2011 and temporarily lived with my parents, and 3) When my father passed in June of 2014. It’s not always rainbows and sunshine (no one can push your buttons like your family), but I love my mother and her presence in our lives is enriching on every level.
No comments:
Post a Comment