This year, we have been sharing our Labor of Love stories with you. Some have been about products and some have been about personal experiences, but they’ve all reflected on our appreciation for the handmade, the hard-won, and the heartfelt. To honor this weekend’s holiday, we wanted to pay tribute to the biggest labor of love of all: motherhood. We hope you enjoy our stories—and feel inspired to share one of your own with us. Or, even better, share it with the special ones near to you.
Goofing around with mom at a family wedding
My mom worked hard to raise me, mostly by herself. I was the one of the only girls in the family—it was me, my older brother, seven uncles, and mostly male cousins. Maybe it was no big surprise that I was always much happier digging in the yard or riding my bike (a black BMX-style number) than I ever was wearing a dress or playing with dolls. My mom knew I wasn’t a kid who could sit still much, so she always encouraged me to go outside and play.
Unfortunately, all this rough-and-tumble activity came with a downside. I am a little (OK, a lot) accident prone. So while I have many fond memories of my mom from growing up, so many of them are of her trying to make me feel better. She nursed me through five broken wrists, one broken collar bone, one broken finger, one nearly severed finger, a tonsillectomy, wisdom teeth removal, some other crazy oral surgery (I am in dental record books!), and most recently, foot surgery in February.
I’ll confess that I am no easy patient, but my mom has always dropped everything to make sure I had what I needed when I needed her most.
Thanks Mom. And Happy Mother’s Day from your “Tough Break Kid.”
Thinking back on Mother’s Days past, I can’t help but remember a few things not mentioned in the blog. Nicole didn’t just play outside, and yes, she was certainly the epitome of perpetual motion as I am sure many of you that have the privilege of knowing her will attest to. One of the earliest “breakfasts in bed” Nicole presented to me at the age of 6 consisted of fresh picked flowers from the yard and a bowl of ‘raw’ bisquick batter with green food coloring in a bowl. You see, she wasn’t allowed to use the stove yet. By the time she was 9, I was treated to homemade blueberry muffins, orange juice and omelets. A real treat! Also by that age she was already making homemade ravioli…pasta dough and all. Our times in the kitchen started when she was 2 and my friends thought I was crazy because it required a lot more clean up when we shared cooking experiences. But we all know that artists creating just looks like a HUGE mess to the rest of the world.
I marveled when one day what started as a plain cotton ball with a face ended up being a complete marionette. She recruited our upstairs neighbor to add the strings, weights and control bar and her creation came to life.
She had free reign at my creative arts shop, Hearts ‘n Crafts where there was always a project in the works and she had the contents of the entire shop at her disposal. Having a partner to create with was the best! Having a child like Nicole made being a mother fun, enjoyable and VERY entertaining. I miss my little girl every single day but am proud and in awe of this young woman. Thank you for letting me share life’s lessons with you and being strong enough to remain true to yourself. I love you! Mom
All I can say is that I am not surprised. Ann’s reputation as as an awesome and loving Mom is overshadowed only by the kind of person she has been all of her life. It brings me great joy to read such loving words being exchanged between a daugther and her Mom.
Ann has been an exceptional individual as far back as I can remember (since high school). I concur with Nicole…Ann is the hardest working Mom (and individual)I know. She brings the same “work” ethic to the table in everything she does. That is just who she is…all the time!
Thanks for sharing…Nicole, please try to be careful (smile).
Lou ♫