Monday, May 12, 2014

Mothers Do

Good Monday morning! Mine has started off at full throttle, but I'm taking a few minutes to recap the weekend, because why have a weekend if you can't talk about it? 

Hubs and I spent the weekend at my moms house. Daughter1 met us there, only she arrived bearing a pretty pink box.  Sometimes it pays to have a daughter working in D.C.  


Georgetown Cupcakes and we didn't even have to queue. If you're not familiar with the famous bakery you should know people stand in a ridunkulously long line to get their mitts on one of these.


Coconut, chocolate-chocolate, raspberry-white chocolate, and then the lovely green tea with lavender icing. They are sooooo rich, a quarter piece was enough. 

For me anyway...hubs might not agree. 

On Saturday we spent the day doing a fun project-cleaning out my mom's basement. Isn't that the way every Mother's Day should be celebrated? Ha! My brother, sister-in-law, sister, brother-in law, nephew, husband, and daughter1 all pitched in and hauled bins and boxes and all sorts of goodies up and down the stairs. Initially my mom tried to stand watch, but at some point she gave up and sat in the family room where she couldn't see what was going out the front door.  It was better that way.  


Remember when every kitchen in America had a giant fork and spoon on the wall? 
How can anyone not love the 70s'? 


The weather was gorgeous all weekend long. We declared Sunday a day of rest and spent most of it sitting on my mom's patio admiring her azaleas. Why did I get her stubborn streak instead of her green thumb? 


She can look at a plant and make it grow and bloom.  


I didn't take a single picture of me with my mom. Or me with my brother, sister, and mom. Bother. I did get one of my sister and her son. The terminator was there too which my mom would probably say is exactly how she felt.  


It's not always an easy thing to let go of stuff, even stuff you don't need or use. We develop an attachment to things based on who gave them to us, how much they cost, or the season of life we lived through when they were relevant.

Hubs and I move like we're in the army (plus he cannot abide clutter), so not a lot accumulates around here. My mom has been in her house almost 50 years, and after 50 years you end up with some stuff.

She did great at the letting go.
Pretty great anyway. Like most hard things in life, its a process.


My nephew was a trooper all day long, and was happy to challenge his cousin to a game of indoor soccer. It's good to be almost 8 and filled with boundless energy.  Some of us are more than 8 and were wiped out from the great basement clean out.


Sunday we had a late lunch/early dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's house. They have a lovely deck overlooking the woods and the river and the temperature could not have been more perfect. Afterwards hubs and I dropped Daughter1 at the train station in Philly and then turned the car north to head home. We rode the whole way back with the sunroof open and the windows rolled down which doesn't happen very often around here.

Mother's Day is pitched as a chance for moms to have a break. To sit and relax and let someone else do the waiting and the cooking and the cleaning. It seems in recent years mine have been spent 'working'. We've moved our daughters from one dorm, apartment,  or storage unit to another the past several Mays, and this year was definitely a big, busy, tote that barge-lift that bale kind of weekend.

I'm okay with that. In fact, I think in some ways that sort of day stamps me as a mother more than a lazy Sunday ever could.

Mothers do.
That's who we are, so what better way to acknowledge that than by doing?


Doing, followed by a Georgetown cupcake and a nap in the sun of course.

11 comments:

  1. Hey! Those larger than life utensils are back in! Ha. We did that 30 year accumulated purge 4 years ago and when she moved again just a couple months ago, some more was purged.... it's a process. ;)

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  2. My parents had a giant spoon and fork set on their wall in the 70's! I painted then black to match my decor and they now hang on my wall :) Do you think I'm in the minority in 2014??? I'm a sentimental one, and I tend to hold onto things.

    I hope your mom is okay after having her basement cleaned out. It made my heart ache just a bit, reading about it, but you are right, at some point we have to let go. It takes me a while--a long, long while :)

    I'm so glad you were able to spend Mother's Day with your mom and one of your daughters :)

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  3. Mothers do, do. You are right about that! I wish my mom was still here so I could thank her, over and over and over, for all she did. I don't think I ever thanked her enough. It sounds like you had a wonderful weekend, and those cupcakes look amazing!! I don't think that bakery was there when I lived in the DC area...25 years ago. May have to get son#2 to take us there when we are up that way again.

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  4. Wasn't but a couple of years ago we were cleaning out mom's house. Wow what a job is all I can say. My mom started the same way. Hoovering around watching and making suggestions and finally just ended up on the couch trying not to be upset as her things were divided into categories. Yes, definitely hard to let go of some things. And your so right of course....DO is what mother's are all about isn't it? The cupcakes look AMAZING. Glad you had a nice day!

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  5. I didn't get a single shot of me with my mom, either, yesterday. Or with my kids and me alone. I love your hair that way in the photo. And kudoes to you for helping your mom. My parents have their house on the market and the agent keeps telling them to get rid of more stuff. I think they are afraid to let go. Not just because they were raised in the Depression and after WWII, but because , as you said, the junk (okay, stuff) reminds them of happy times long ago. In some ways, I might have a hard time helping them let go. I'd either be too easy on them or too hard, depending on my mood.I think they know that, so they haven't asked for my help! Ha! You and I both got a stubborn streak from our moms.

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  6. Cupcakes look scrumptious! Oh yes I remember the forks on the wall. I never had them but I know many people who did. That was a great mother's day gift to your mom only I would had to have a say in my basement being cleaned out. I wish I could be like you and your husband when it some to being so organized. I use to be but now I just have too much stuff. I working on accomplishing that goal.....Less is more! Sounds like you had a lovely weekend with your family.

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  7. Wow I would need a nap after all that work and a marvelous cupcake too! My mom and dad had the fork and spoon too.:-). And yes it's so difficult to let go of things that have meaning to us. Good for your mom for letting y'all get in there and do what needed to be done. Now when did you say your break is going to be? ;-)

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  8. We had the giant fork and spoon too!!!
    I also forgot to take a picture. We have a family wedding at the end of the month so everyone will be all gussied up and I will be taking a LOT of pictures. I can almost hear the whining now!

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  9. Man, those cupcakes look GREAT! I shudder to think about cleaning up my parents' house. My SIL said we were just going to back up a truck and throw everything out! (That's not exactly how she said it, but it's the message!)

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  10. I am heading to DC next week. Is the cupcake place there?

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  11. I am sorry I am such a bad blogging friend lately. I will try to do better. Congrats on the engagement of your daughter! Those cupcakes look yummy!

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