Mother's Gifts

Mother, originally uploaded by homemadeoriginals.

I was pleased that this week’s theme for the Etsy Blogger’s Blog Carnival afforded me an opportunity to reflect a bit on my mother pictured above, the term “mother” and gifts to and from mothers. I’ve had a mother, been a mother, and am soon to be a first time grandmother. As I thought about this post and looked at some of the gifts I’ve received and given, a theme emerged.

Like most children do, I’m sure I gave my mother many hand-made treasures over the years, drawings and collages and projects that teachers planned for their students to give their Moms on Mother’s Day and at Christmas, items made from Popsicle sticks and cotton balls, oranges studded with cloves and tied with ribbon. I don’t believe any of mine have survived to the present but I do have a collection of things from my children that I treasure especially now that they are both “grown up” adults. Some were presents they gave me at the encouragement of their teachers and others were entirely their own creation. I have quite a collection in the family Christmas ornaments which are packed away until next December as well as creative projects retrieved from backpacks or at parent teacher conferences and back to school nights over the years.

I was perusing my children’s baby books today and found this story my son wrote in 2nd grade. It still makes me smile to read it, especially the ending. The story, titled “The Crow Who Hated His Color” is carefully stapled between two pieces of wallpaper and accompanied by a very good likeness of a crow for a second grader.

The wheat/bird cross stitch was a gift from me to my mother for Mother’s Day 1977. I was 27 years old and it was one of my first if not the first counted cross stitch I completed. Only six years later, my Mom was gone, taken by cancer. Her gifts to me include a love of creative pursuits (she did needlepoint and pettipoint, knitted, hooked rugs, did crewel embroidery, quilted, and was an expert seamstress and cook). I have her sewing machine, many of her knitting needles (in a basket made by my father), her spinning wheel, and many more reminders of her talents. Here is one of the hand made treasures from my mother:

What gifts does Mother’s Day bring to mind to you?