I told her I did not mind the rain and thanked her for being so thoughtful. There are a lot of People with kind hearts. I would have never thought of doing something like that. Later I went to the store and the young man who helped me gave me a compliment on my blue eyes and that he liked to listen to my accent. Sometimes I have days like that. Hope you too have days like that when you feel like smiling all day.
Then there are the times when she gives that good old-fashioned mom pep talk after some stressful story I’ve told her:
There is always something a person has to deal with. I know things will get better for you. I feel it in my bones. It is like the Sun and the Moon, or Ebbe und Flut, the water goes wild, but then it calms down again.
Other times, she’ll tell me about her day, where she went, who she met along the way, and the interactions she has with others:
It was an ordinary Day and Strangers made it a special Day. It does not take much sometimes just a positive mind.
Of course, there are the reminders, that no matter how wise we get, we can still do some pretty unwise things:
I did a very foolish thing last weekend. I cleaned the side of the House with Bleach. It was all green, everything looks so dirty, so I thought I start to clean up. Anyway I ruined my hand. The Bleach ate my finger tips and my thumb, so I suffered all week. … I will never do that again.
Occasionally, the simplest thought will resonate so deeply with me that it stays with me indefinitely:
Thank you for the book. What a story. I felt I had to read on with my eyes closed, it is written with so much empathy.
Inevitably, there are always the basic reminders:
Life is good, but you have to make it happen. Enjoy this day with your friends.
And without fail, there’s always her signature sign-off:
Alles liebe und gute,
Love Deine Mutti
By: Monique Peterson (View Profile)
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Comments
Thank you for story. It made me feel things about my own ma. Good feelings. So thank you for that.
Moni -- what a beautiful testimony to your mother! Having known you since the 7th grade, I can see the bigger picture of your relationship with her, tumultuous and conflicted, but ultimately unique and personal. My mom and I too share that kind of bond. I am so glad you've come to appreciate her... and honey, you write BEAUTIFULLY! "Tausend gruesse..." Jennifer
Letter-writing is a lost art. I don't have a single person in my life who writes me letters regularly, or who I write to, for that matter. It sounds like Mrs. Peterson has given you many to cherish. My favorite is "I felt I had to read on with my eyes closed, it is written with so much empathy." Beautiful.
My mom always used to write me messages in my lunch box. Your article makes me wish I kept them.
I loved this glimpse of your mom -- what a gift to receive her letters and her gems of wisdom and how lucky we are to share her smarts! I'm taping "enjoy this day with your friends" to my mirror. My grandmother refuses to communicate by phone and she doesn't own or want a computer so she writes to me (and six or seven others) every two weeks. I usually get a rundown of who died this week, what each of her grandchildren and children are up to, and what she ate for dinner, but every so often she shares a little joke or something new from her childhood and I treasure these gems and my grandmother even more with every reading. I get such a rush of happiness when I see her white and blue envelope peeking between my bills and catalogs and I love that she always opens every letter with "Just a quick line to say hello" and then she writes on for 5 pages. I find I have started to open my letters with that same line. Enjoy this day with your mother!
It feels good to write.
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