A Tribute to a Special Woman 5/12/14

     Good morning.  Yesterday, I was busy.  I was also too emotionally spent to post this, then.  My heart was torn, because of the day it was.  Heavy and happy at the same time.  However, this subject is too dear to let it pass without saying something.

     The following was written the first year the inn opened.  I have edited it, adding more info about the innkeeper.  Please notice the request at the end.  It would make me happy, hearing your responses.
 
      May you have a terrific Monday.  I know I will.   The Innkeeper

Here's the post:    

      A special thanks to all the mothers
reading this post today. Your selfless work is unending and not appreciated as much as it deserves.  Thank you,  for the role you fulfill.  Your children are safe and sane, because of your efforts; they've were----or are----well tended to, because of you:

Sweater, n.:  garment worn by a child when its mother is feeling chilly.  ~Ambrose Bierce

       Mothers, society appreciates the values you instill in your children.  I'm thankful my mom demonstrated unending love and grace.

        For women who had hardworking, sacrificial, loving, caring, faithful, diligent mothers, isn't it humbling to know that:

Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee

Calls back the lovely April of her prime.                                                  ~Shakespeare    

        My mother died in my arms, on her birthday more than five years ago.  I was playing the guitar, gently singing to her.  The day before, when I saw her, she had been in a coma for two weeks.  My two sisters did not tell me.  

       Arriving at her room, she remained unconscious.  I asked my son to open the guitar case, planning to serenade her. When she heard my voice, she sat up in the hospital bed, opened her eyes and spoke.  She had waited for me.  For five-and-a-half hours I played the guitar and sang as she blinked at me and my sons. 

      We shared a very special last conversation that night.  I knew it would be our last. 

       I played and sang her favorite song, at her funeral, at her request.  I'm grateful I was with mom during her final moments.  She still lives deep within me.  Though no longer present, I'm grateful for her fingerprints upon my soul.  Today's gratitudes will focus on my dear, sweet mom, Cecilia:

1. I'm thankful for her humor.  To see the lighter side of life, I learned from Mom.  This inn would not exist, if it weren't for her.  My hope and joy are gifts first awakened by my mother's attentive care.

2. My outlook in life was influenced by her kind gentleness.  I learned to overlook a matter---grace---from her. Lord knows how often she tolerated my mischievous nature, to the very end.  I learned to ask, "how important is it? " Many issues that would consume me, if not careful, are seen as not worth my grief.  Without my mom's influence, this inn of positivity wouldn't exist.

3. I'm grateful for the boundaries she taught.  She, by my side---as a lad---instructed me in the ways of connecting with God.  From her, I learned right from wrong and was nurtured to be considerate towards all.

4. I'm grateful for her faith.  Kneeling alongside when she prayed, I witnessed her earnestness in prayer.  She impressed upon me the importance of regularly talking with God and to listen, too.  

     This habit helps me make it through the day, and week, and month and year.  I can't live without God's help.  I have discovered I am as strong, spiritually, as I am in prayer.  If it is weak, so is my spiritual strength.

5. I celebrate her deep love for music.  Because of her passion for it, I love music and am a musician. Thanks, Mom, for awakening an appreciation for a language that conveys emotion in many brilliant , soul-satisfying ways.

6. I'm thankful for her cooking.  Warm memories I have of her, in the kitchen.  The meals she'd prepare for us kids, were exceptional.  I loved the cakes she baked.  Her resourcefulness in feeding her large brood---satisfying all of us---was a regularly feat of hers.

7. I am grateful for her laughter.  Thinking of her, my heart warms as I hear her laughter resonating within the halls of my memory.

8. Im thankful one day, I'll take a trip to where she is, enjoying her touch, hear her delightful laughter, take in her loving looks and luxuriate in her love, once again.
9. Most of all, I deeply appreciate the love she had for me.  Though tired---worn weary---tending to six kids, she always had time for me.  I thrived and am who I am, because of her affectionate, tender love.  I would not be one hundredth the man I am, without her influence in my life.  I agree with the following:

If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would jump off the beam.   ~Lord Langdale

      Thanks Mom, for being an example of God's giving, gracious love.

How About You?
Readers, may I invite you to share your gratitudes about your mother?  I'd love hearing them.