The Best Gift I Ever Got

 

Last weekend I traveled to my mom’s house for a visit. The only thing unusual about this was the fact that it was the first time I’d seen her in more than a year; it was the resumption of a long-standing tradition, a tradition that the pandemic had suspended. May 14 is my birthday, which means that it always falls close to Mother’s Day (sometimes even on the same day). So, long ago, I established the habit of an annual mid-May visit for a joint celebration of the two occasions.

I’ve always thought the conjunction of these two May days was appropriate, because they are two sides of the same coin. Of course, I didn’t realize that when I was a kid; back then, my birthday was all about me, about getting older and getting a bunch of presents. But now I realize that I am not the person who deserves recognition on that day: where my birth is concerned, I had the easy part. More to the point, I no longer expect any gifts from my mom, because I have come to understand how very much she has already given me.

In 1941, the world was a darkening place, and even as a little girl, my mom could perceive that. Her parents had weathered the Great Depression relatively well: her father was never unemployed, and they always had enough. But their marriage was an unhappy one: they fought, and they sometimes lived apart; he drank, and it seems clear in retrospect that he suffered from depression. Two months before Pearl Harbor, he had apparently had enough, and he ended his own life.

My mother was the one who found his body. She was seven years old.

When Mom was older and became engaged to a young man she knew in college, her mother strongly disapproved. I can’t imagine she had any reason to dislike him specifically; rather, I think she had been so embittered by her own sad marriage that she disapproved of the very idea. My parents had to wait until my dad turned 21 so they could marry without parental consent. The wedding arrangements were kept quiet, and I’ve heard stories about how one of their friends stood sentry at the church entrance, ready to sound the alarm if my grandmother approached.

As a result of this forbidden marriage, my mom was effectively disowned by her mother. Mom and Dad finished college and went to grad school; Dad did two years in the Army; their first two children were born; and through all of this, my mom had no contact at all with her mother. It wasn’t until ten years had passed that a cautious reconciliation took place, but this came almost too late: by then my grandmother was already suffering from undiagnosed cancer. She died about a year later. This was right around the time I was born.

So that was the life my mom had lived before I came along. Here’s the thing: as a child, I had no idea about any of it. I had an idyllic childhood, although as a child I didn’t realize it could be otherwise. I grew up in a stable family with two loving and attentive parents who guided us, supported us, corrected us when necessary, and trusted us. I never went through a rebellious phase because I had nothing to rebel against. And for 57 years, my mom has been a sounding board and confidante. Whenever anything important happens in my life, she’s still the first one I want to tell.

So when I think about how she grew up, and compare it to the life she (and my dad) gave me, I am more grateful than I can say. I don’t mean to suggest that my mother’s early life was all misery, but it was hardly ideal. She grew up without a father, and yet she chose for her life partner a man who became the best father one could hope for. Her own mother failed to show support and understanding, and she found those qualities in herself, in abundance.

So that’s what she gave me. In giving me birth, she gave me my life; but more than that, she selflessly gave me the best childhood I could have asked for. Some people would point to a background like hers and use it as an excuse for their own failings, but it seems that my mom made a deliberate decision to give her children exactly the kind of childhood she had been denied. There are many kinds of strength, but I have come to understand that my mom — all 100 pounds of her — is probably the strongest person I have ever known.

That’s why I visit in mid-May, because those two May days — my birthday and Mother’s Day — remind me of everything she did for me, and how I can never thank her enough. Not that she would expect me to.

Published in Group Writing
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There are 4 comments.

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  1. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    I love every post you write, BXO. And what a lovely tribute to your mom, too. Thanks.

    • #1
  2. D.A. Venters Inactive
    D.A. Venters
    @DAVenters

    I can really relate to this, as I received a similar gift from my mom. 

    Like yours, by some kind of miracle, my Mom was able to pass to her children much more love and wisdom and peace than she had ever received.  She kept the madness and controversy she had experienced away from us, which allowed us to have that idyllic childhood. 

    I think that makes all the difference because, as far as I can tell, people generally try, consciously or unconsciously, to recreate their childhood homes as an adult.  So, this is a gift that lasts generations. 

    • #2
  3. navyjag Coolidge
    navyjag
    @navyjag

    Great story. Amazing what our parents went through in the 30’s and 40’s. Dad was an orphan. Adopted by a single male teacher at age 7. Never had a mother or siblings. Then  a Marine Corps pilot in WWII at age 20.  Amazing stories from him growing up. Remember his one advice in the 60’s was to stay the hell away from Viet Nam. Made it there anyway. But only a sailor so I survived.  Our lives were so much easier. 

    • #3
  4. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    There are two major monthly Group Writing projects. One is the Quote of the Day project, now managed by @she. This is the other project, in which Ricochet members claim a day of the month to write on a proposed theme. This is an easy way to expose your writing to a general audience, with a bit of accountability and topical guidance to encourage writing for its own sake.

    Stop by and sign up now for “May Day, Mayday, May Days.”

    Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.

    • #4
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