Dear Mom,

Dear Mom,

It was good to talk with you this past Sunday and great to hear your voice. I am glad you got the letter I wrote in Michigan.

I gonna sit right down and right myself a letter....
I gonna sit right down and right myself a letter….

I write a lot about growing up on my blog. I reflect and write how growing up made me who I am, why I do what I do, and why I think the way I think. I have never taken an accounting of the balance on my blog posts between you and dad. If I had to guess at a ratio, it would be mostly dad, about 70 – 30. Abraham Lincoln said it best, or maybe wrote it:

“The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future.”

The complete quote is, “There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite.”  From the Lincoln Nobody Knows by Richard M. Current (1958).

But, it really should be 50-50, after all I am a product of the two of you.

Every once in a while I’ll call to thank you for something or to apologize for all of the headaches and heartaches I put you through growing up, especially that period between 13 to 25. I don’t know how you did it considering since that period of time was magnified three-fold and lasted until we all grew up.

Growing up is a process and I continue to grow and mature, even at my age. When I stop learning and growing, it’ll be time.

Thank you for all that you shared with me that shaped me into who I am.

I love to cook because you love to cook. You taught me that it was okay to fail, as long as I learned from it and moved on. Your maxim of no comments until after dinner is good advice for a cook. You taught me to be open to new foods and even though we were young, we all remember Julia Child’s kidney recipe as well as Boeuf Bourguignon, Coq au Vin, S.O.S. – dad’s recipe from the Marine Corps – and so many other foods and dishes.

I am glad we can talk and that you listen. You’ve never told me what to do, you just listened and didn’t pass judgement. I learned from you to do that with my own children. I believe in God because of your insistence that we go to church and Sunday School, even when I didn’t want to. Thank you.

I am a reader because you instilled the love of reading and learning, early. You, and dad, surrounded us with books and you patiently answered my questions about why, when, where, and so many other questions a young boy asks. I am glad you didn’t scorch that shirt you were ironing when I asked that question.

I am who I am because of you and your belief on being open to new things – food, ideas, and ways of doing things a different way, but always learning and growing.

I am glad we were able to spend your birthday together this year – it was wonderful time, a trip I’ll always remember.

I can’t wait to hear your voice after you open this letter. Thanks, mom, for being who you are so I can be who I am.

Love,

Clay

finishedletter
the finshed product ready for the mailbox and the postman

I’ve been mulling this letter since yesterday afternoon when I was painting walls, pulling up masking tape, and helping W wrap up his Eagle Project. He’s finished with the project and now he needs to finish the write up and complete his reviews. I am so proud of him, we are all proud of him.

The past couple of days have been great days. It was overcast and rainy today and I took a nap while the rest of the family was out shopping. I made every minute count, well almost, and it was a great day but tomorrow could be a million and six times better. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, one letter to mom I should’ve written years ago, but didn’t, because this one’s going in the mail – with a real stamp.

This post is in response to Word Press’s The Daily Post: Dear Mom on July 15th. Write a letter to your mom. Tell her something you’ve always wanted to say, but haven’t been able to.

love of reading and learning - and a cup of coffee
love of reading and learning – and a cup of coffee

8 thoughts on “Dear Mom,

  1. Seems to me like you should make some of those dishes you mention in your letter, maybe even for her! (Except for the kidney one. I can’t imagine that’d be worth the effort.)

    Handwritten letters have long gone out of style, and I hate it. A couple of years ago, I decided to get back to writing letters to my distant relatives and old college friends. It’s a lot of writing, so I stagger it over the year, and I send out a lot around Christmas. I wish we could, as a society, get back to that. How can you beat getting a letter in the mailbox?

    1. Kate – my apologies. Sometimes I miss replying to a comment and I am embarrassed. I found your comment this morning and I am sorry it has taken almost six years to reply. Thank you for your comment and thank you for visiting Making the Days COUNT dot org.

      I am still writing letters and putting postage on them and mailing them, but I do miss writing a letter to mom. She passed away a little over two years ago and we miss her, but it was her time and one day… so I still write. this fall I began writing thank you cards to my students to show gratitude for their contributions in class. It made a difference for many of them and I received to thank you notes in return. But above all it made a difference to me. I hope you are well, safe, and sharing your light. Peace.

  2. Handwritten letters are special, especially in these days of instant emails. So that’s a special letter for all sorts of reasons. I laughed though when you said you love to cook because your mum loved to cook. Same with me. But I have at least two friends who love to cook simply because their mums DIDN’T love to cook, and who routinely produced such horrible food that their daughters vowed to do better. With both of those motivations going the rounds, we should ALL be fantastic cooks! Have a great weekend – maybe cooking something for the family to share?

    1. Thank you.The letter’s in the mailbox. A few years ago, she called to remind me to write, at the time I didn’t write, instead I called – that was 20+ years ago and I regret my response was sort of snappish. I wish I had written more than I did and I have saved all of her letters. Yesterday, I cooked a pork shoulder on the grill – it made a delicious pulled pork – we’ll have pork for a couple of days. She wasn’t a griller, but i’ve grown to use the grill – gas and charcoal – and get better at grilling. Always learning. Thanks, weekend looks hot and busy,

    1. Thank you…I hope she does. It’s always a pleasure (and insightful) to read other blogs. That’s why we write, to share, learn, and grow, Thank you for stopping in and reading. Have a great week.

    1. Thank you…. letter is in the mailbox. We’d watch Julia Child as a family and my mom would cook the meal. It worked well, except for the kidney dish.As fro SOS it is chip beef – ground beef in cream gravy over fried potatoes – aka ‘sh_t on a shingle’ as my dad called it… mom would make it because it was tasty, easy to cook, and cheap. It’s been a while since I’ve had it. Have a great day.

Thanks for visiting MtDC. How are YOU Making YOUR Days Count?