A Day for Mothers

Photo originally published in The Record, May 13, 2006 p. G1. by Matthew McCarthy, GRAND RIVER LIFE.

This is my neighbor Sharron and her six-week-old son, Isaac in front of the barbed wire that separates her property from my father's cattle-grazing field. She had wanted a baby of her own for years but just couldn't get pregnant and when she did, she had a miscarriage. By the age of 42 she thought she would never have kids, thinking it was now or never, but she didn't give up.

After my grandfather passed away two years ago, her and her husband Al moved into his place next door. They were hopeful that this time they would get lucky and they would have a child. They did! Isaac was born a healthy happy baby!

Funny for me to think that in this above picture, her and the new baby are captured in the place that my father's father would set out at 7am every morning at the age of 84 for the barn to meet him for their daily chores, like they had always worked together, father and son, in days gone past. Isaac will be growing up in the house that I would scamper about in as a toddler grandchild around the Christmas tree. The passing of the seasons and the new buds on all the trees remind me of the rejuvenation and possible reincarnation of existence itself. It's as if when one light goes out, somewhere else another always turns on. It's a nice thought.

Now that my neighbor has a new little man in her life, she can't believe the kind of love she has from being a mother: "It's a dream come true. You're in love (with a spouse) but you've never had this kind of in-love before." A new child changes the dynamics of a family.

Sometimes changes are a miracle, other times they come as a tragic surprise. Last year another part of her family was taken away. Her step-son was only seventeen, playing sports and most likely looking forward to life when he lost the fight against cancer. So this birth was a blessing at a time when other parts of her and her husband's life could have been very trying.

Being an older mom seems to increasingly be the norm in this country where financial and marital stability can take more time to get sorted out before the choice to have a child is affordable or practical. There can however be health risks associated with waiting until later to get pregnant. The biological clock is always ticking. Despite the worry, Sharron was fine. She may be better prepared in her patience and wisdom to properly nurture a child at the age she is. She seems to be having a heyday pushing little Isaac around in his buggy, showing her youthfulness in the form of enthusiasm for mothering.

So this Mother's Day Sharron and Al have something special to celebrate. It was also Trash's nephew's first birthday today. Yey! That kid loves to go for walks.* I suggest you take a moment to think of your moms on this day. Celebrate the selfless gift of life that our mothers gave to us!**

As for my own mother, she is getting older. I didn't really know what to get her! She will probably be hoping for a foot massage (one of her favorite things). Lately I've gotten out of the habit of doing it -I've gotten off easy, although I may be forced this time by moral imperative. My sisters and I all used to make up different excuses to pin the chore on each other when we were all watching a movie and my mother would ask "would you massage my feet?". "You do mom's feet!" We'd say. But considering all the diapers she's changed, all the lunches she's packed, all the hours spent playing, all the ohhing and awing and support she's given me over the years, putting up with her heavily calloused feet (she spends lots of time walking around in the garden) is probably a modest Mother's Day gift...uhmm, er, on second thought, maybe I'll just go with the card.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

*Trash is not a mom but when she babysits she becomes momish.
*Mitzee, Chloe, Queen of Ass, Suburban Misfit and Vesper are cool moms. Did I forget anyone?


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