Caring Comes In Threes
Happy Mother's Day
When Toby suggested we write about our moms for Mother’s Day, I thought it was a wonderful idea; but for me, it was also a very difficult task. The reason it is so difficult for me is because I write about silly, fluff-stuff and am not great with sentiment or emotion. Since I have the greatest Mom in the world, I feel my writing can’t possibly do her justice. My strengths lie in talking about poo and making fart jokes and though I’m sure she’s had a lot of experience with poo and farts after having six kids, she deserves much better, so this is a very daunting task.
My mom has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met. If someone is sick, she is there to help them. If anyone needs anything, she will give it to them if she is at all able to. Everyone who knows her loves her. Children who have never met her are instantly drawn to her. Even my completely anti-social dog, who likes no one else, loves my mom. Of course that is partly due to the fact that she shows love for her family and grand-doggies with food.
Our family tries to get together most Sundays and Mom always makes enough food to easily feed six families. There are generally at least two or three main dishes (just in case someone doesn’t like something), several more side dishes (because you need side dishes) and an array of desserts that would make a Las Vegas buffet feel inadequate.
As everyone leaves later in the day, Mom runs around in a frenzy, “Here….take THIS!” “You want some of that?” “You have to take this with you…I can’t possibly eat all of that by myself! It will go to waste.” And everyone leaves with armloads of food. When Dad was alive he would be in the living room yelling “GIVE IT TO POOR PEOPLE!” Mom would ignore him and happily pile more Tupperware containers full of food onto the to-go stack.
If you enter her house and say that you like something non-food related, she will almost inevitably say “You want one? I have three more in the back room.” Mom buys in bulk. If, on the off chance she doesn’t have a spare, she will send you home with the original.
I am so incredibly lucky to have the mom that I have. She’s wonderful, warm, sweet, funny and just slightly goofy. She is the person I aspire to be. And every time I buy something in threes, I smile because I know there is a part of her in me and that makes me happy.
Graphic credit: Fresh Coloring
About the Author
Sheila Strekal Has Written 6 Articles For Us!
I live in Cleveland, OH and work as a developer in Information Technology. Two dogs and a cat allow me to live with them, but only if I provide food. I have Activity ADD, so the things I do during my non-work hours change regularly. The things that have remained consistent are kickboxing and yoga. Kickboxing and yoga seem to be at odds with each other in a philosophical sense, but they are both wonderful ways to work out stress. My love of animals has also remained consistent throughout my life. Through the years I’ve had several people tell me I should share my writing, but I am an extremely private and somewhat shy person so the idea of letting anyone in scares the crap out of me.
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Oh Sheila, I just had to laugh about buying in 3s. While I don’t remember there being a special number, my mom did indeed stock up on everything .. and there were only 4 in our family. Guess it’s a “mom thing.” Thanks for the great stories!
Sheila, I have the exact same Mom! Our house was always filled with relatives and friends while Mom whipped up enough food to feed an army! Back in the days before dishwashers, however!
-SerenaK