Although it is several years since my dear Mum passed away, I still feel her presence every day.
This year, I have been thinking of the unbridled enthusiasm, support and encouragement she would have given to our new artistic venture.
My love of the outdoors and nature first arose from numerous country walks with Mum when I was a young girl. Even on cold, rainy days I would hear mum bustling around the house saying ‘come on, we need to get out, otherwise we will just be stuck indoors all day and we don’t want to be moping around the house do we? We can’t let the rain stop us going out .’
It was Mum who encouraged me to look up at the sky and watch the clouds billowing or drifting, asking me what I could see in them so that we could compare our visions of mountains, monsters, rabbits, elephants and whatever else we could each see.
She used to enthuse about trees and how many shades of green there are in all the leaves, in the grass and all the different colours of tree bark.
During the current lockdown and social distancing, I am so grateful that Mum taught me to value the simple things in life and to be able to walk for hours on my own, just enjoying all the beauty around. It wasn’t even just out in nature, but in towns and cities that she taught me to really observe our environment. She would point out architectural details, colourful shop windows, local flint or rustic stone, interesting historical plaques… the list is endless! In doing this, Mum furnished me with a visual appetite for life which has allowed me to enjoy the riches all around me, wherever I am, whatever the weather.
I will be setting aside some special moments to think about Mum on this Mother’s Day and will be thinking of so many people who cannot be with their Mums and how I will be able to spend some of my Mother’s Day with one of my children, but not the other this year.
I have been enjoying lots of flowers – both out and about and at home, where I have some beautiful blooms in jugs and vases ... here is a photo of some of them, for you to enjoy.
I can picture my Mum’s beaming smile on opening the door to us when we visited on her special day, bearing gifts, including the inevitable Guinness – her favourite tipple. Flowers, chocolates and a special lunch out were the usual celebration on Mother’s Day. She really loved birds, especially little sparrows and blackbirds and always made sure there was food and water in the garden for them. I remember she used to tame a blackbird, which she called 'Joey'. She would open the kitchen door to the back garden, whistle and call out ‘Joey!’ and sure enough, Joey would appear on the fence, jump down onto the path, hop up the step, tilt his head to one side and then eagerly eat his little treats! He would reward us on Summer evenings with the most beautiful sounds, singing his heart out at the bottom of the garden filling the balmy, evening air with his beautiful melody!
I hope you will all enjoy Mothering Sunday and thought I would leave you with this quote, from Dr Debasish Mridha:
'A mother's love is more beautiful than any fresh flower.'
Sue
This blog was originally posted on Mar 14, 2021
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