Write About Your Mother

 It's a little early to celebrate Mother's Day, but I have a reason. You have 12 days to write a tribute to your mother, or something about her for the rest of your family. It's nice to buy her a card, and perhaps a gift, as well. But writing to her or about her would be a gift that would be marked "Priceless!" 

If your mother was a storyteller like mine, you've learned a lot about her early life and beyond. I've always felt blessed that my mother told me and my siblings about her growing up years in a small Iowa coal mining town, and then in a Chicago suburb where life was a complete turnaround from what she'd known her first eleven years. 

Maybe you learned about your mother's early years from your grandparents, or her siblings, or even her close friends. If she's still living, and you don't know a lot about her life before you came along, now is the time to ask her. To see what her life was like before she became an adult and a mother helps you understnad the kind of person she is today, or was as you were growing up. 

My mother's parents separated when she was only eleven, and the hurt lasted forever. If our mothers experienced something traumatic as a child, the effect will still be there when she became an adult. 

Besides writing about your mother's early years, write about the things you remember most about her in your growing up years. What kind things did she do on a regular basis? What kind of punishments did she mete out, and did you finally realize she was helping you become a good person by not being permissive? Did she plan special things for holidays? Your birthday? Did she open the house to your friends? Was she a good cook or not so good, but always managed to put something on the table? Did she take you to church? Or not? Did she take you to movies? 

Before you start writing about your mother, take some time and roll back the years and give some real thought to what she was like. Not all mothers are shining stars, but there must be some good qualities. Perhaps there was a reason some mothers weren't going to win any parenting awards. Delving back into her history might help you understnad. 

You can write her a letter to tuck inside her card. Or write a personal essay. Or a poem. If you have trouble getting started, write two words, then let your mind and your memory take over. Write 'I remember...' 

As I mentioned earlier, if your mother is no longer living, other family members would like to read, or even have a copy, of what you write. I wrote a eulogy which I read at my mother's memorial service, As I read before a large group of her family and friends, I wished I had told her in person many of the things I had written after she passed. 

Use this next twelve days to write about your mother. It could be the gift of a lifetime.