Sunday Wonders - A

A is for Always. 

Today is Mother's Day.  My mother has been gone for almost 28 years and yet, she's always somewhere in my thoughts.  I think of her when I'm watching Coronation Street - I always remember her watching it  on the old black and white TV while she did the ironing.  My mother was a fan from the very beginning back in the '60's. 

I will always think of her when I hear a pun.  "The lowest form of humor",  I can hear her saying as she laughed - and Mom did love to laugh.   My mother loved words and she loved puns best of all.  She was very good at them although I think her best puns were unintentional.  

I always think of my mother as a stylish woman.   She  loved clothes and shoes and hats. She believed that a new hat would cure any ailment.  She sewed all our clothes when we were younger.  I  always longed for something from a shop, though.  Typical, probably.

I will always remember her favorite scent was Yardley's Red Roses.  Mom loved roses and was delighted  to have so much sunshine at her island home to grow them.  Her all-time favorite was the Peace rose.  I believe the story behind this rose was more important to her than the actual flower.  She was, however, very proud to have one in her garden.

I'll always remember how happy my mother was to be Gran.  She only lived to see  the first three grandchildren and she loved them dearly.   Mom loved babies and looked after my eldest until she was almost a year old.  Mom always made all the kids feel special. 

This is a time I will always remember.  It's one of the clearest memories I have of my mother and I having fun.  We were all at the beach and I know she was trying to teach me to swim.  If I close my eyes, I can still see us in the water.

The truth is, almost everything I am or do will always bring my mother to my mind.  I have her blue eyes but not her beautiful chestnut hair.  My hands are the same shape as hers were.  I love to read and write because books were so important to her.  "Books are your friends" she would always tell me.  My mother taught me to read, to knit, to sew and she set the example of hooking rugs, quilting and gardening.  One of the first things she taught me to cook as a child was baking powder biscuits and I always think of her when I make them.  I don't have a lot of things that were my mother's.  I'm just happy to have the pieces of her that make me , me.     
Mothers are always with us - no matter where they may be.  Happy Mother's Day!