Navigating To My Place

Photobooth
Image captured at the Ace Hotel's photobooth : Portland, Oregon


After vacationing and then being sick this past weekend I am finally beginning to navigate myself back into my regular routines.



I'm quite the habitual creature. I like routine. I like structure. Even on vacation I like a loose structure. I like, when possible, to know what's coming next so I can adjust my expectations accordingly. I'm not fanatically structured, but I do like days that flow; days where I'm prepared and organized and on time. I also like making and crossing off lists.


One of the new routines I've added recently is taking Simon to swimming lessons twice a week. I've been thinking about my Mom so much as I pack his snack, gather his suit and towel, pick him up from school, drive him to the pool and watch him interact with his instructor. I think about her and wonder what she was thinking about as she did this for three kids, each just about 15 months apart in age. This whole process of snack-making is such an everyday activity. Did she embrace it? Did she mutter frustrations under her breath? Did she long for something else? Did she enjoy it? All those practices, all those meets and matches and games...all those moments packing snacks. 


Lucky for me my Mom reads my blog and I'll likely get a call with an answer soon.


My Mom was a serious carpool/sport Mom and she was always big on being early/on time. I remember her telling me at some point how it makes life so much less chaotic and peaceful. She was so right and I have always been a big fan of punctuality and often enjoy the benefits of being early.


She was really fantastic at packing those snacks to fuel us through our practices and events. As I was making Simon's snack for swimming this morning I know I did it in a more consciously loving way as I thought about her and the gifts she possesses as a Mom. I've been thinking about the hours upon hours she spent driving us three kids between practices and schools and home and how she never missed a thing (except that one birthday - you know the one Mom).


Perhaps it's my own rose-colored memory, but I can't recall ever hearing her complain. I also don't have a memory of her being in a hurry to get on to something else.


It's been often throughout my own motherhood journey that I think about my Mom and the role she has played and continues to play in my life. I compare and contrast and often call to ask her for advice or suggestions with my own kids. I have a deep, deep love and fondness for her and the ways she interacted with, taught, guided, supported, instilled confidence, encouraged and loved us as we were growing up.


That Simon has gotten to know her as well as he has is one of the greatest gifts of my life.


I think I recognized I was lucky as a kid to have her for a Mom and now, of course, I know.


Annagrandma

I started this post yesterday thinking I was going to share an entirely different story about my life right now.


As I was writing about how I'm navigating through the middle of a bunch of different projects, that image of me standing at the kitchen counter making Simon's snack and thinking about my Mom making snacks for us to eat between school and sports kept entering my mind.


I've given thanks many times in the past for my parents, I'm sure this won't be the last.



Sometimes stories come to me in this sort of way. They interrupt the path I was on, often unexpectedly as I write about something else entirely.


Today I encourage you be open to those stories that come to mind when you are thinking of other things or working on other projects. I invite you to get pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard see where it takes you.

Related Posts

Sign in or sign up to comment.

85 thoughts

  1. Kara M says…
    04/07/2010

    I echo your statement for my mother, "I think I recognized I was lucky as a kid to have her for a Mom and now, of course, I know."
    My mom is here now on her Spring break and working on projects for me. Love it!

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. {vicki} says…
    04/07/2010

    Lately, I have been doing the same "snack thing" as my son has ball practice right after school and then sometimes a game after that.....
    Really enjoyed this post and thinking......
    I'd like to call Your Mom for some advice ---I could really use some advice on "talking back". (but ya'll probably never did that)

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. GrannyCharlotte says…
    04/07/2010

    Thanks for sharing. We often get caught up in the sameness of everyday life and forget to just stop and smell the roses. I am so enjoying being able to spend more quality time with my Grand-children since I have retired. The little everyday things mean a lot and I love seeing the joy on their faces at the little things.

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Lanie says…
    04/07/2010

    Ali, you are so blessed to think about your Mom and realize these things. Mothers are wonderful. They are the glue that holds a family together. I love the pic of your mom and little one. Your mother is beautiful! I feel bad when I hear of people that don't get along with their parents or didn't have good childhoods, but I smile when I read things like this. I lost my sweet Mama last October and I think of her several times a day everyday. I thanked her before she left, but there is always so much more to say...
    Thanks for sharing your sweet Mama!
    ~Lanie J.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Barb says…
    04/07/2010

    Ali, the photo of your mom with your daughter is beautiful. I can see a lot of you in your mother's face, and I can see a lot of you in the way you describe your mom. She must be so very proud of you. <3

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Susan says…
    04/07/2010

    this is so touching and it reminds me of all the thoughtful things my mom has done for me over my lifetime. it's a lesson in embracing the things we do as mothers, even the smallest things like making our kids a snack. thanks Ali this was a really nice post. have a beautiful day! Susan

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Lori says…
    04/07/2010

    Beautiful words and tribute, to what I'm sure is a beautiful person- your mother.
    I feel very blessed to have the relationship I have with my mother as well, and I'm SO grateful for the relationship she shares with my children.
    Thank you for the reminder to take a moment and appreciate the people in our lives!

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. celeste says…
    04/07/2010

    I don't think we recognize the worth of our mothers, the love and sacrifice they made for us until we become mothers. Lovely post!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. christen says…
    04/07/2010

    i've had this exact same feeling about my mom - especially at birthday party time. my mom loved birthdays and always went all out for parties and seemed to do it effortlessly. as a mother i realized how much work is involved.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Juju says…
    04/07/2010

    What a lovely post!
    Sometimes I think what my mother did when she was my age and try to compare her life with mine. So different and so much alike at the same time.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Ali Edwards says…
    04/07/2010

    HA! We totally did...I just had a conversation with her about that last week.

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Maria says…
    04/07/2010

    You never cease to amaze me, Ali... Thank you and enjoy your mom with all your heart.

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Melanie says…
    04/07/2010

    Such a sweet story. Funny how something triggers a memory for us. Your mom will be proud!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. alyssa says…
    04/07/2010

    Ali, your post is just plain awesome on so many levels. :) It's so cool that you have so many memories of your mom and that you are still taking time to express your gratitude to her. This has become increasingly important to me as I've gotten older, even more so in the face of a family illness that has really highlighted so many of the things that I'm thankful for - and how many things I took for granted without even realizing it. You've already got me thinking about some ways I can better say thank you to my parents this year (suddenly can't wait for mother's day and father's day)!
    I love how attention to the everyday can clue us in to such interesting and meaningful parts of our own stories, past and present. Your story is such a great illustration of this. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Nora says…
    04/07/2010

    Love your post today...I am a motherof 7 kids in 8 1/2 years apart. Only the 2 girls remain at home now, the 5 boys have gone on to their own lives now. The oldest a Baptist peacher, the othe four serving in our military. Three our fighting in the war right now over seas. Making it very hard on me right now. Some days I am so scared of the door bell ring. They will not all be home tell Nov so I have a ways to go like this. With all that said and all the work being a mother of 7 kids in 8 1/2 years I would not change it for anything in this world!!! I feel very blessed every day that I was chossen to be a Mother...

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Katie @ cakes, tea and dreams says…
    04/07/2010

    Love that photo of you with the words - and the one of your mom with Anna is so sweet. I think I need to email this post to my own mom.

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Betheroo says…
    04/07/2010

    What a beautiful story Ali! This is one reason why I always have paper and pen with me - because stories seem to come at the most unexpected moments!

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Cynthia Friese-Hassanein says…
    04/07/2010

    Love this Ali:) I love this part of creativity. When you are thinking about one thing and then another story appears begging to be told!

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. wendy says…
    04/07/2010

    Your story brought tears to my eyes! Thanks for sharing such a sweet story! Moms are wonderful people!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Vicky says…
    04/07/2010

    Ali: I love your post. I am such a fan of yours because you always remind us how to stop and enjoy the moment. I've been thinking of my own mom lately and she and my dad will be moving from Illinois to Texas. I will miss her dearly. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Shaun at Oak Den says…
    04/07/2010

    Thank you for this lovely post and for the encouragement to let a story of our own come to us today. I also have a wonderful mom who will be 84 this year. I don't know how much time I have left with her and that sort of terrifies me! I'm finishing up a few assignments from Yesterday/Today (now that Cathy's DYL class is over) and I've sensed how much I've missed being in that place you took us, where I could pause and be aware of life. This post did the same thing and I can feel the mother-stories I need to tell, and probably even put in my YT album. Thank you, sweet Ali!

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Donna Tullis says…
    04/07/2010

    Thanks for an absolute beautiful expression of your heart this morning, the picture is so precious of her and sweet baby Anna.

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Donna Tullis says…
    04/07/2010

    oh...and that pic of you is so very cool...you know it captures me and how i see myself perfectly...beautiful yes to my father in heaven but a little worn on the edges from life, I would so love to capture one of me like that - how do you do it? You have had several pics of you with your camera, which is perfect for me, because I always take the pics and am hardly ever in them. not sure how you get them...if you can share how to capture myself like that i would appreciate it :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. kT says…
    04/07/2010

    what a great post, well appreciated even from a non-mom.
    I know how you feel about intending to write about something and ending up writing about something else entirely. I did a similar thing with a blog post I wrote earlier.
    http://exilefromconformity.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-ink.html
    I think I just intended to talk about the experience, getting the tattoo but wound up talking about how I feel about my tattoos, and myself. I love those surprises!

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Lana says…
    04/07/2010

    Such an awesome post Ali! So heartfelt, just beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
    Lana

    Reply 0 Replies

Sign in or sign up to comment.