HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! I know I am one of the most blessed people on the planet because I was given my mom, Jean Kelly.
She was born in 1935, second youngest of 13 kids in a small mining town in Nova Scotia. When she was born, there was a mission priest who had come into port and her mother brought her to him for a special blessing. That effort was not wasted.
In her youth she would sing at morning mass every day before school for $10 a month, which meant the world as they didn't have a lot of money. Plus she loved to perform! In an effort to improve her social standing, after completing grade 11 (nobody in her class wanted to stay beyond that), she went to nursing school. She and her girlfriends had all planned to go to San Diego where nursing jobs were plentiful to start their new exciting lives. All the plans were made and she was all set to go! And then her father got sick and was in hospital. So, she told her girlfriends to go ahead and she would join them once her father was well enough to go home. My mother’s father was so proud of her that he had her nursing graduation picture on his bedside table in his hospital room. A young doctor at the hospital saw the picture and inquired “Well, who’s that lovely lady?” Long story short: my dad was that young doctor and my mom never made it to San Diego!
For the next 14 years they built their lives and our family. First in the small town of St. Lawrence and then to the “big city” of St. John’s, Newfoundland (remember where Titanic hit the iceberg? It was off the coast of there!). I love that my parents took so many pictures of us as we can see how much joy they had in their lives with us kids. Sadly, my mom was widowed with 6 children at the age of 37 when my dad passed away from cancer. I think about myself in that situation. What would I do? 6 kids?? Holy shitake mushrooms!!
My mother raised all 6 of us to be human beings that I would want to know even if we weren’t related. She has been a pillar in our lives, each of us having our own unique relationship with her. For me, she has been a spiritual guide and showed me the joys of loving freely. She showed me how to be strong and that it’s okay to need a helping hand sometimes too when things are tough. But mostly to be the helping hand. I see the love and generosity in my family and I know that comes from my mom. And though we, my siblings, generally attribute our senses of humor to our dad, my mom is pretty funny too! Lord knows she’s had to learn to laugh at life with our crowd pulling her in so many ways!!
So, whatever your mother’s story is, even if you don’t get along well with her, know that she has a story too. She’s lived and had trials. It’s cliché, but being a mother REALLY IS one of the hardest jobs in the world and really not one you can truly appreciate until you yourself become responsible for another human’s life.
Thank you, Mom, for all you do, and for all you have done for me and us “kids”. I don’t know what I did to have been given you as a mom, but, as we say, “I must have done something good.”
Have a wonderful day all you mommies!! Sending you love, peace, patience, kindness, and compassion! Those are the tools required. (A little wine never hurt either! ) Peace.
She was born in 1935, second youngest of 13 kids in a small mining town in Nova Scotia. When she was born, there was a mission priest who had come into port and her mother brought her to him for a special blessing. That effort was not wasted.
In her youth she would sing at morning mass every day before school for $10 a month, which meant the world as they didn't have a lot of money. Plus she loved to perform! In an effort to improve her social standing, after completing grade 11 (nobody in her class wanted to stay beyond that), she went to nursing school. She and her girlfriends had all planned to go to San Diego where nursing jobs were plentiful to start their new exciting lives. All the plans were made and she was all set to go! And then her father got sick and was in hospital. So, she told her girlfriends to go ahead and she would join them once her father was well enough to go home. My mother’s father was so proud of her that he had her nursing graduation picture on his bedside table in his hospital room. A young doctor at the hospital saw the picture and inquired “Well, who’s that lovely lady?” Long story short: my dad was that young doctor and my mom never made it to San Diego!
For the next 14 years they built their lives and our family. First in the small town of St. Lawrence and then to the “big city” of St. John’s, Newfoundland (remember where Titanic hit the iceberg? It was off the coast of there!). I love that my parents took so many pictures of us as we can see how much joy they had in their lives with us kids. Sadly, my mom was widowed with 6 children at the age of 37 when my dad passed away from cancer. I think about myself in that situation. What would I do? 6 kids?? Holy shitake mushrooms!!
My mother raised all 6 of us to be human beings that I would want to know even if we weren’t related. She has been a pillar in our lives, each of us having our own unique relationship with her. For me, she has been a spiritual guide and showed me the joys of loving freely. She showed me how to be strong and that it’s okay to need a helping hand sometimes too when things are tough. But mostly to be the helping hand. I see the love and generosity in my family and I know that comes from my mom. And though we, my siblings, generally attribute our senses of humor to our dad, my mom is pretty funny too! Lord knows she’s had to learn to laugh at life with our crowd pulling her in so many ways!!
So, whatever your mother’s story is, even if you don’t get along well with her, know that she has a story too. She’s lived and had trials. It’s cliché, but being a mother REALLY IS one of the hardest jobs in the world and really not one you can truly appreciate until you yourself become responsible for another human’s life.
Thank you, Mom, for all you do, and for all you have done for me and us “kids”. I don’t know what I did to have been given you as a mom, but, as we say, “I must have done something good.”
Have a wonderful day all you mommies!! Sending you love, peace, patience, kindness, and compassion! Those are the tools required. (A little wine never hurt either! ) Peace.
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