Thanks for the Mommeries

Monday morning greets us with sunshine and warmth. Finally. We're ahead of the game of water removal and cleanup in our basement; now its just a matter of time to get it to dry out so we can make the necessary steps to perhaps work with Mother Nature the next time she decides to drop a surprise on us. Its also the day after Mother's Day. And my mind is full.
I spoke with my mother a couple of times yesterday, which is good. Communication during the seven months my grandmother-my mom's mom-battled pancreatic cancer, we kept in touch through text messaging. The wave of the current times, right? Yes and no. Yes, more and more people are texting today to keep in touch but it does keep us from actual human contact. Call me old fashioned but I still like the face to face intimacy of a good yarn spinning, pardon the pun (I'm a bit of a yarn harlot, fabric floosey...a post for another time). Back to the focus of my content.
My grandmother's diagnosis came in September 2010. Or perhaps it was August; my memory is fuzzy at certain times of the day, which I believe most mothers can sympathize with this. We went to see her not long after the initial decree from the doctor. Tired, concerned for the future of her family and how things would become, she still carried a vibrance I hold in my heart to this day. After we came back home, I kept in touch with her by phone. Months passed, procedures done and treatments carried through, I received the word that Hospice was coming in to offer comfort care. Plans made, a month of preparing myself for what I would encounter when we went to visit again, we made the trip. Walking into the apartment my aunt had made for my grandparents to live in her home, I knew the woman sitting in the recliner to be my grandmother but in many ways, it was almost being introduced to someone new. During the visit, we talked (that conversation is sacred to me, therefore I will not devulge the details here) and I could see glimpses of her. It was hard to leave, and it was a hard three weeks before she passed away on Good Friday.
My mother and my aunt took care of her together in those last couple of weeks. My aunt had done so for the almost eight months that she lived in the new apartment with my grandfather. My thanks to all involved in her care as time came to a point of transition from this life. Yes, I have my moments when I cry, as I'm just as human as the next who mourns. Yet, I want to honor this same wisdom bearing matriarch by allowing myself those moments to grieve and then do as she would: find a way to carry on. The most important part of her battle for me (and we each have/had a lesson to learn with the situation) has been that family is family; you can pick and choose your friends but you can't do that with your family. Getting passed old hurts and any moments of dysfunction is important, because its about sticking together to help each other stand up.
So, for all who are moms, who know their friends to be moms, etc...we have a special purpose in this lifewalk. We nurture new life, we receive it into this world, we multi-task as we unconditionally love, we give all we have until it hurts, we empty ourselves to be able to fill up on the love we receive in return for all we do. Yes, being a mother can be a thankless job at times, or at least that's the way it feels. Yet, I wouldn't take a moment and change any of it for myself. So, to all the moms I know and even to those I have absolutely no clue of, thank you for being you. Thank you for giving.

~Momma