Daily Prompt – Calling An Audible: Happy Mother’s Day!

Today’s daily writing prompt is what public figure do you disagree with. R Dub prefers to keep these posts on the positive side. So…I’m calling an audible. Happy Mother’s Day!

Speaking of my mom is highly traditional and probably too stereotypical, but the traditional stereotype of mom fits mine to a tee. What stereotype is that? Caretaker.

My mom was the one who always took care of us. Who is us? Well, my brother Randy and myself for starters. Later in dad’s life when he began to fail physically and cognitively, she was his primary caretaker.

But it hardly ends there. Several of my aunts and uncles have told me that they considered my mom to be their mom when they were growing up. A family of 10; grandma, grandpa, aunt Donna, mom, uncle Harold, uncle Gary, aunt Sharon, aunt Patty, uncle Denny and aunt Kathy.

Specifically, 3 of the four youngest. Sharon, Patty and Dennis.

But mom was more than caretaker. She was teacher, both academic and practical. She taught me how to tie my show laces, brush my teeth, read, and write in my preschool years. Pre K was not a thing in our hometown during the 60s. We didn’t even have Sesame Street in those days. The first airing was in 1969, I was already in 3^rd grade by then.

Enter the grade school days. Summers at our one-acre property meant gardening. Mom and dad planted, they both harvested, but mom did all the canning and most of the prepping for canning. I loved wandering around in that garden looking for crops to harvest. Helping mom prepare some things for canning was my third favorite gardening activity. Number two? Harvesting. Number one? Eating fresh produce right off the plant.

My favorites? Sweet peas, kohlrabi, carrots, radishes, apples, cherries, and grapes.

Did I say apples, cherries, and grapes? Yup. Mom and dad had 3 apple trees, 2 peach trees, a cherry tree and a grape arbor.

Other produce grown over the years? Sweet corn, pole beans, cabbage, potatoes, pepper, tomatoes.

These were fun activities as a kid, summer break was great, and mom was a always there. Friends spent hours at our home. One acre in town meant plenty of play area. Everyone that came over was welcome. Many were fed while visiting.

My favorite lesson? Learning to cook. Some lessons were learned by instruction, some through osmosis. Either way mom taught me to cook and bake. The baking part didn’t really rub off and I’m not good at it. Oh, but the cooking. We are both good at it. I love it, mom claims to not. I have a hard time believing that she hates it because she does so much of it and very good at it.

I do remember loving her baking. Banana bread, cookies, cakes, brownies, and pies. The best memories of baking and cooking. Christmas. Christmas cookies, the sugar type is still my favorite. One of my favorite Christmas songs is George Strait’s song Christmas Cookies. Christmas also meant home made candies. Peanut clusters, chocolate covered pretzels and fudges.

The greatest lesson. Being a good person and one who gives back. Mom and dad both volunteered for decades at their church. Mom in the office a job she still does at the age of 87 every Monday counting the offering donations and getting them ready for deposit. Due to their generosity with their time and talents through the decades has worn off on me. Giving back and building community is important to us and I got my drive to give of myself from my mom.

That’s my beautiful mom. Happy Mother’s Day mom! We love you!