Happy Mothers Day ELH

Honoring my mother is not an easy task. It has been done beautifully many a time. She has been honored by professors, psychologists, artists, writers and poets. The further I go into my own journey of motherhood, the more I look back and think about my own childhood. I can imagine her telling me not to get a Hallmark card (I personally love them!) but instead to create something, an organic ode.

We may have disagreed on blue jeans, the color gray overall and aspects of theology, but the fact that it is now difficult to rattle off what we disagreed on amazes me! The gift of how close we have always been is not lost on either of us. As different as we are, we are each other's biggest champions. I may not fully grasp the mythical breakdown in a particular archetype and she might not see the need to attempt a new pantry labeling system but the support is unwavering.

I admire my mother's ability to see societal expectations as merely guidelines to step fashionably out of and create her own map. I admire her work for Victims of Torture and her willingness to see past the rawness of any artist or dancer to the gem that is there. I admire her acceptance of the unknown, the ability to talk to people about scary stuff and give them tools to climb to a place of comfort. I admire my mother's paradoxes, beauty and work ethic.

As I navigate the waters of being a family leader, teaching our kids about the world, I think about how much social justice also means to her. As I make food many, many times a day I am comforted knowing how to make healthy food watching her experiment with salmon, greens & olive oil before it was all the rage. As we tuck the kids in at night I know how deeply I value their emotional well being in dreamland and imagination, a grounded respect for the mind I would not have with out my mother.

This entry has in no means done my mother justice but it is a start. It is a nod to the profound, unwavering love I have for her. I am so grateful to be the daughter of a complex, brilliant and beautiful woman who will use this life and fill her cup to the brim.

My Mother's Wikipedia Page
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_L._Hall#section_1