Happy Birthday to Momma Salt

Both my mother and my father's mother have celebrated birthdays recently and I am feeling very grateful for the both of them. Particularly I am feeling nastalgic today after reading The Secret Life of Bees. The book is about a girl whose only memory of her mother is the unfortunate day where, as a toddler, she accidently shot and killed her mother. Her father is unkind to her and one day informs her that the day she killed her mother, her mother was packing her suitcase to leave her. Lily can't believe that her mother would leave her, so she runs away to find out more about this woman she can barely remember. I wanted to take a break and write about how I was feeling, as it has moved me to meditate on some feelings about my own mother and grandmother.

Lily meets a woman who nannied her mother, who tells Lily things about her mother that Lily has longed to know. What kind of sandwich was her favorite, what she liked to do, what her favorite color was, etc. I thought about the moments where I really got to know my own mother. How grateful I am that she taught my senior seminary class because it gave me the chance to really, truly learn from her. And learn things about her that I handn't previously known, like what her favorite scripture was (2 Kings 6:16-17). Elisha and his servant were surrounded by the Syrians (who wanted to kill them) at night while they slept. When the servant awoke he was afraid and woke up Elisha saying Alas what shall we do? Then Elisha tells him v. 16 "Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." I am sure the servant found that hard to believe and was quaking in his boots because Elisha then prays v.17 "open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw: and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."

And at the part in the book where one of the women Lily came to stay with passes on, I was reminded of my grandmother, my mother's mother. I remember her funeral and the emotions I felt that day. I remember writing down my memories of her and feeling sad that there weren't more. I then thought about all the moments I had with my own mother that I took for granted. All the times she and I drove an hour to the doctor with me and the hour back and wishing that I remembered each word, each detail of our conversation, wishing desparately that my life ran in syndication. Wishing all the times that instead of thinking, "You've told me this story before, Mom" that I had written it down in my heart and kept it close for moments like this.

I love you mom for all you have done for me, for all the times you held me up when I wanted to drown. Thank you for always being there for me. And in case you were wondering, my mom's favorite sandwich is "A turkey sandwich with cranberries on an everything bagel."