The Bridges of Motherhood........

My mama always did say.....

From the ancestral waters of ages past,

spans a bridge over time

where ancient secrets are passed

from one generation to another.

Transitions bring new lessons,

some easy and some hard,

but each step is guided

by heart and soul and love and fierceness.

A mother's love builds a bridge over the

troubled waters and gently guides

the new life

in all kinds of ways,

both seen and unseen,

to the

next place in life...

where the new one stands while holding the

hand of the one in front,

and extends a hand back to help another cross

the bridge

over the sea of life.

Mother's day...

It was a good morning here at my house.

The kids had spent the night with friends.  M had given me my gift several days ago,

because like her dad, she just can't wait.  She gave me a new set of acrylics--which I've never used before, a new sketch pad and a new storage disc (is that what you call them, m?) for my camera because mine was full.   Big Daddy got up, cooked me an egg white omelet absent the usual grease from bacon and served me on the couch.  I worked preparing my raised bed, got a new gardening tool, a hanging basket from him as well.

The kids came home...and the best was yet to come...

Homemade cards with wonderful words of love

written inside.

M. being the more artistic drew a flower on the front....

B's. simply said MOM which I read upside down as WOW...his card was store-bought

but had a written message inside.

I will always treasure the cards and the thoughts and the love.

Mostly I will treasure today,

the wonderful gift of two children

who have taught me

more about grace and mercy,

love and life

than anything I've ever known.

They teach me daily, not to take life so seriously,

to laugh often,

to hug--yes they are helping me learn it--and to live fully in the present which I'm trying to learn.

Upon thinking what they have taught me,

i remember the women before me...

My fatma, the one in the far left facing the screen.

She lived next door to me and could cook like nobody I've ever met...

German Chocolate Cake, pineapple upside down,

ham, green beans that melt in your mouth and the best damn lemonade

I've ever had.  She loved me in a way I've never experienced...

in a doing kind of way.  She taught me to stitch, quilt and sew,

cook and peel and plant.

The one next to her...my Little ma, fatma's daughter,

was a wilder woman, full of creativity and a

fiery spirit which was often her worst enemy.

From her, I think I got my rebel spirit and creative energy.

The woman next to her is my mama....

she was 15 when she had me and no she did not have to get married...she just married at 14...

We grew up together and today,

she is the spring of love

that seems to never be dry, no matter what I do or say...

She has and does love me unconditionally.

she has the best laugh and the kindest heart in the world...

and she

is a wonderful grandmother.....

My mama always did say....."when they are young they step on your toes, but when they get older they step on your heart."....

her mama told her that

and her mama told her..and she told me and

I'M SURE I'LL SAY IT TO MINE SOMEDAY, TOO

SO FOR TODAY...

ON THIS MOTHER'S DAY...

I'M THANKFUL

FOR ALL THE WOMEN, ESPECIALLY THE ONES ABOVE,

FOR HOLDING ME AND LOVING ME,

BIRTHING ME AND CORRECTING ME,

i AM WHO i AM....GOOD AND BAD AND UGLY,

AND LOVE IT ALL

BECAUSE OF

THE WAY THEY

HAVE

HELPED ME

PASS OVER THE BRIDGE OF TIME...

May I DO THE SAME WITH THE GENERATIONS TO FOLLOW...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY,

FATMA--I THINK OF YOU EVERY DAY,

LITTLEMA, I SENSE YOU IN THE MUSIC AND ESPECIALLY WHEN I SEE  AN OLD UPRIGHT PIANO OR A JET BLACK WIG ATOP A WOMAN'S HEAD...

AND

MAMA...

YOU ARE MY SOURCE OF STRENGTH

AND MY ROCK...EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT...I LOVE YOU..