This will be my second Thanksgiving without my mother. She passed away in August of 2010 and I thought I was through the worst of missing her, but I thought wrong. For some reason, maybe it's just a holiday thing, I miss her more than ever.
Being in the kitchen together was one of our favorite places. She loved to cook and I love to cook, so it was a natural place for us to chat and catch up on life...the kids, my marriage, my faith, my home....all the things moms care about. We would make the biggest mess (neither of us being the neatest of cooks) and we'd sing and have a grand old time. Those days are gone for me and the house has been sold and Thanksgiving with Mom will only be in my heart.
I realized how tender my emotions were at Walmart of all places. I was doing my pre-Thanksgiving shopping and for some reason, many of the shoppers were mother/daughter duos. Many of the mothers were elderly, in scooters, and the daughters were helping them gather the items they needed to create that special bread pudding or macaroni and cheese. One thing I noticed though, was they were all fussing with each other...mother knowing what she wanted and daughter telling her what she thought and biting words all around. I know that feeling and I've been there with my own mother. I wanted to run to them and tell them to cherish this time, even the Walmart time, to love each other and not fight over what type of butter to get. None of the things they were thinking of as important really mattered at all.
My eyes filled up as I walked away. At that moment I wished more than anything to be able to spend time in my mother's kitchen, in her presence telling her how much I love her. I can't, but perhaps YOU can. This Thanksgiving, if you have the joy of spending it with your mother, tell her you love her, sing and laugh with her, and make sure you give thanks to the Lord for her presence in your life.
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