It felt so good writing the title for this post!
It’s been 7 weeks since my last Wednesdays with Wanda post, and I’ve missed it.
It feels so good to go back to that “place” where my mom still feels so close to me.
It’s Tuesday night as I write this, and it’s my second birthday without my mom. The big 4-0. Yes, I said it. I am forty. Wow. That hurts.
Mom would be so excited about me turning forty. And believe you me, she would have called me early in the morning to be the first one to tell me Happy Birthday.
Mom loved celebrating birthdays.
Who am I kidding, she loved celebrating people (especially her children).
Mom loved celebrating.
She loved making others feel special. It was her gift.
My sister gave me something the other night at my birthday dinner that I hadn’t seen in years. It brought an instant smile to my face followed by tears and that familiar ache of missing mom.
It’s another one of those handwritten keepsakes from my mom that make her so dear to me.
In 1991, Mom decided to make a list of all the “favorites” of every member of our family. I was 21 at the time, and the days of having big birthday parties with lots of friends and presents were drawing to a close. I was at the age where a birthday meant a small get together with just family. The way I liked it best. :)
Mom decided that she wanted a list of all of our favorite things to make our special day as special as she could.
So she made us all fill one out, me, my sister, my brother, and dad. And she saved the information in a file to save for our special day (or any day that she wanted to make us feel special).
Here is mine:
Not too much has changed over the last 20 years as far as my favorite foods go!
We did get a few laughs about some of the things I wrote, though.
I do not remember ever liking chinese noodles on my salad.
Or ever even eating califlower casserole.
#8 cracks me up! Favorite Fish…Long John Silvers!
Yep. That was the truth.
Until I married my husband, the only fish I had ever eaten was Long John Silvers!
Luckily, his family loves fish and now I can say that my favorite fish is Salmon. Yum!
Fruity Pebbles is still my favorite cereal. I can eat the whole box in one sitting.
And of course, my favorite candy is still buckeyes. :)
As I read over this list, I felt so loved. Mom cared about the details of my life.
And as I grew older, and she would have me and my family over for Sunday dinner near my birthday, you can bet she had made me something off of my list.
My sweet sister made me parsley potatoes and green beans for my birthday supper the other night. Thank you, Cyndi.
I was so glad Cyndi found this list!
I am going to have my children and my husband fill one out too. Of course, my sons’ “favorite” foods will probably change over the years. I expect I will have to update it! :)
My prayer is that they will feel the same love that I felt from my mom whenever she made things for me off of my “favorite” list.
If I had the chance to go back a few years, I would make a list for my mom and have her fill out her favorite foods. I am sad I never thought to do that. And if I could, I would make everything on her list for her everyday, just to show her how much I loved her. And I would make everything on her list everyday for the rest of her life, and I would still not be able to repay her for all that she did for me.
Do me a favor.
If you are still blessed to have a mom on this earth, find out her “favorites”. You might think you already know them, but make her feel special by asking her and writing them down.
And then make her something off that list and tell her you love her.
And give her a kiss from me.
