To All The Moms In My Life...

I always get a bit melancholy in the springtime leading up to Mother's Day.  I lost my mother eight years ago this past spring - her favorite time of year.  She always loved flowers and had quite the garden herself when she was able to tend to one.  I try to get some flowers blooming in my yard, but I am more of a low-maintenance gal and prefer plants that don't require a lot of attention.  Hence, my African Irises. Because of our wonderfully cool winter, our foliage seems to have gone berserk this spring and these irises are the latest showoffs.  My mother loved irises, but the other kind, that came from bulbs and were treated with dignity and babied along.  I think she would have liked these nonetheless because she was always delighted by anything with a pretty bloom.

So many of us have lost our mothers or our grandmothers. And although I still mourn the loss of my mother, I celebrate the fact that I have a wonderful second mother in my mother-in-law, Orlando Grandma.  What a generous spirit she has and has always embraced me from the day I met her over 30 years ago.  You can understand what a treasure she is if you read this.

I also celebrate the many good friends I have made over the years, mainly through my children, so thus we are all mothers.  Many have drifted in and out of my life, just as I have from theirs throughout the years, but there are several constants who I know will be lifelong friends.  They are all terrific moms and they have helped me be the best mom I could be, even when things got rocky.  They know who they are, but I also hope they know how much I appreciate them as moms, and as friends. So here's to my eclectic collection of friends: CG(upholstery expert extraordinaire, gardener, new chair helper and thrift shop scourer), CC (kickboxer, decorating visionary, accounting tutor and co-consignment shop stalker), SN (fellow tuna lover, book lover, reality show cohort and spinner), KarenSue (personal walker/talker, fellow blog enthusiast who got me started on this crazy blog and thrift shop/esty queen who exposed me to the possibilities in "things) and  BE (my second son's mom, fellow NC-lover, who I don't see enough of), and finally my lifelong friend, Jane, in Canada, who knows practically my whole history - poor thing.  All of you are the best friends I could  hope for and I hope those of you who STALK my blog, will comment and let the world know you are not just a part of my imagination.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms in my life and to the memory of my mother.