Happy Mother's Day 2016

It's been years since I've been able to wish my mother a "Happy Mother's Day" to her face, and each of my grandmothers walked on before her. Fortunately, my Better Half, the mother of our children, still walks Mother Earth with us. To her and them and every mother, wherever you are, "Thanks and hugs (XX) and kisses (OO) to you all!" Since flowers are considered obligatory on this day, enjoy a field of beardtongue.

beardtongue (Penstemon grandiflorus) (not blooming yet this year)

Photo by J. Harrington

The Writer's Almanac today has a great new poem by Freya Manfred, one of my favorite Minnesota poets. It seems perfect to me as a read to help celebrate this day.

My New, Funny Old Mother

by Freya Manfred   

Will I ever be as funny as my mother at ninety?
I hope so, for everyone’s sake, especially mine.
This woman, who swims, learns Spanish, cooks for herself,
and works Thursdays at the library - this very Mother -
burps after every bite, wets her pants, washes them,
sports a hearing aid that screeches carols,
and says, “Whatever!” to whatever happens,
when in the past she didn’t trust much good
would come of anything, or anyone,
and often pointed to what wasn’t working
to preserve her worried soul from what could soon go wrong.
When we said, “See you in the morning, Mom!"
she said, “We’ll see about that!”
But now she says, “That would be nice.”
Relieved of my dreams of perfection, I can’t stop laughing,
gently, softly, when her hearing aid syncopates her burps,
and she asks, “What? What’s so funny?” - giggling -
because she knows I love her as she is.
No changes needed. Nothing to fix.
“See,” she says, “I told you. Everything’s fine.”

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