Sunday, May 8, 2011

Her Hands







My mom had a recipe book

she had written (by hand)...









A collection of her favorite recipes which she intended for me to have. Over the years, it disappeared…perhaps during one of our moves. I looked tirelessly for it, hoping it would pop up, but it didn’t.

Recently, I was telling my cousin, Diane about it and she mentioned that my mother had sent her a few hand written recipes.  She said still had them and said that she was going to photocopy them and mail me the originals. A couple of days later, they arrived... I was extremely touched by the thoughtfulness and love of my dear cousin...



Cousin Diane's note to me



As I opened the envelope, I sat with tear-filled eyes, holding my mother’s recipe cards in my hands, and feeling like a part of her was still with me. 

I held the paper she held

I studied the crafting of each letter in her penmanship…in the way she swirled her capital L; the way she blended the letters together in an artistic script, unique to her as she formed each word with pen on paper, in an articulate manner…such that when I read her words, I can hear her voice…the cadence in which she spoke; the tone; the softness; the upbeat and joyful spirit in which she communicated; the humor she interjected. I can see her smile when I read her sassy; witty side notes which bring back the memory of that sparkle in her eyes …that little sense of mischief…playfulness that she never failed to entertain us with.



Mom's comments on the back of one of her recipe cards!




(As you can see below, she "no likie" sage...
and apparently, I was one of the 5 little piggies)  :) ...





There is a little spot of something here at the top of the card...

it looks like a drop of an ingredient or a little bit of gravy…



The smudge just confirms that this recipe was used and enjoyed throughout the years…and passed along now to me and to others.

 Oh, how I wish I could smell the gravy on this note!


My heart is warmed by the thought of times spent in the kitchen together while I measured ingredients and placed them side by side for my mom to incorporate into her wonderful creations. I can see her stirring, whipping, rolling dough, forming meatballs, sautéing onions and garlic for spaghetti sauce, placing roasts in the oven, removing the stew meat from the pressure cooker, frying bacon and eggs and measuring coffee into her percolator.  I recall the comforting mornings of waking up smelling the wonderful aroma of that coffee and oh, yes, the bacon sizzling and wafting throughout house, waking me from my morning slumber…......no alarm clock needed! 

These notes... 

represent even more depth of meaning to me because toward the end of my mother's life, a stroke robbed her of her words…she could no longer speak, but she would smile and clap her hands every time I went to visit…a huge blessing that she always recognized me!  She would light up when I entered the room, wiggling her toes, clapping her hands and smiling and laughing , her entire body filled with excitement!

I’m reminded by her written word of how full of life she was….and I have tangible pieces of conversations here to hold in my hands; to press to my heart; to cherish…


and to taste

as I savor each morsel of her recipes…

for food…and for life!


In her words ...  



;) 

Her hands…

Held me tenderly the moment I arrived,                                                      

Nourished me and nurtured me,
 
As she welcomed me to life…

Her hands…

Bathed; clothed and fed me;

Held my little hand and led me;

Taught me how to write….

Turned the pages of the books she read to me each night,

Folded as she prayed

And clapped for my school plays;                   

Her hands…

Like magic, turned patterns into clothes

And knitted slipper socks;

They softly styled waves into my curly locks,

Felt my forehead for a fever and rubbed Vick's onto my chest,

And wiped my nose and held me close and softly caressed….

When I skinned a knee,

They bandaged me

And carried me back home,
                                     
And never left my side…

I never felt alone;

Her hands

Cooked my favorite foods,                 

And baked my favorite pies,

And when I was hurt or sad
 
They wiped the tears from my eyes;

Her hands drew pretty pictures,

In fact they crafted art,

And they touched me with a mother’s love

As they held this child's heart!
                                                              
Now I look down at my hands

And I'm amazed to see...

Her hands

Seem to have re-appeared,

As they live on....

In me!   

(written by Lorraine Brown, copyright 2011)                                                 


H A P P Y   M O T H E R' S   DAY!


Other Poems of Remembrance
You May Also Like:                 A Tribute To Mom          Looking Back At Me



 The legacy she leaves behind,

Is one of kindness and delight,

She loved the life she lived,

And she lived it right!

So when I see a shadow,

Dancing in the wind,

I remember momma's spirit,

And the joyful life she lived!

(excerpt from "Annie's Shadow"; written by Lorraine Brown)






30 comments:

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I think you win for most beautiful Mother's Day post. Happy Mother's Day.

Summer said...

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY !! What a beautiful post ....We are all so ver very Blessed !!

mangiabella said...

what a beautiful tribute to mom! I love reading your posts about your time spent with mom and how you bring those memories to life...I can almost smell the bacon from here!! It's so refreshing to see someone who cherishes their mom so much and inspires me to truly cherish the time I have with my mom and to always focus on the unique characteristics that make her who she is and the life that she strived to make for us! I can feel Annie's vibrant spirit through her words when I read about her 5 little piggies and how she no likie the sage, and how her recipe makes mucho grossa deliciosa haha - what a hoot! p.s. I have my mothers hands too...too cool.....

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Well now this was just wonderful...what a total treasure you have been given and what inspiration for this mom...may I be as blessed to leave behind such a heritage...I have a lot to work on.

Just a couple of weeks ago I was handed my great grandmother's song book...what a treasure to see her writings...may we all remember to leave behind some hand written notes.

Just an awesome post...thanks so much for posting!

Hugs!

A multi-dimensional life said...

Thank you so much, girls....and just know that you already are leaving a legacy! I am blessed to read your beautiful words as well! xo

Shannon's Shanonigins said...

Wow. That was truly beautiful! I could feel your mothers love, and I can feel your love for her. I must admit, I left some tears on the keyboard, but what a beautiful tribute, to a beautiful woman. I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed the poem about your mothers hands. You are such a talented writer, and such a beautiful person. How lovely that the best of your mother lives on in you. I think she's still clapping her hands with pride, along with the angels. I just hope you can hear it.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Oh, what treasures! I just love that you have those original recipe cards. And such a touching tribute to your dear mom...you were blessed to have her...and I'm certain she felt the same way about you. xoxo

spcookiequeen said...

It makes me so happy when I read about the love I hope we all share with our Mother's, time goes to fast. I'm sure she would be crying tears of joy to have read this. Happy Mother's Day!
-Gina-

Unknown said...

I don't think I've read as powerful a reminder about how grateful I need to be that my mom is still here. Thank you for that.

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

What glorious remembrance! What a tribute to her mothering heart and hands. This is beautifully written. Perhaps you could stick this post somewhere alongside the recipes that you received so that future generations might "hear" the witness of a mother's love!

peace~elaine

Denise J. Hughes said...

What a beautiful post! Your words bring such thoughtful prose to the treasures you have found in those cards hand-written by your mom. What a blessing. I hope you experienced a blessed Mother's Day.

Teresa said...

All i can say is that I'm intoxicated by the detail of your beautiful writing and being smitten by the woman your mom was. How beautiful! Thank you for sharing this beautiful woman who graced this earth with life, laughter and love!

Jacqui' said...

okay, this one had me in tears! Your mama had the prettiest writing. And the poem was beautiful. Hope you had a great Mothers day hun =]

Kim Turnage said...

What a beautiful tribute to your mother, Lorraine. Thank you for sharing your heart.

Amy said...

Those are some precious hand written recipes. Very thoughtful of your cousin to send them to you. :)

As always, your poem is beautiful. It brought tears to my eyes...Thank you so much for sharing.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog to say hi. It's always lovely to hear from you. Please take care and have a wonderful weekend.

Toyin O. said...

That just almost brought me to tears,what a beautiful tribute to your mum, she just sounds like the most amazing mum ever. It appears like you have some very beautiful and touching memory of her. You should publish her recipe book, she must have beeen quite the cook:)

I think the blogger crash on Thursday deleted your comment on my post, but thanks for your visit as usual:) I just did not want you thinking I deleted your lovely comment. My post was also lost, I had to re-post it yesterday. Anyway, hope you are having a great weekend.

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. said...

oh my friend..how that post reached out through the computer and touched my heart.. my mom passed a few years ago,, and just the other day, for a breif moment,,I thought..Oh I better give mom a call (I always called her every evening about 7 oclock).. My mom , like you, is why I am who i am.. and every mothers day i miss her so much..as well as every day.. but I know that she is so much happier in Heaven, then here on earth..
thank you for sharing that beautiful touching post..god bless

Sierra said...

My heart goes out to you - oh how you must miss your mom but I'm glad that a part of her could be with you during this Mother's Day. I loved seeing your pictures of her and what beautiful handwriting she has! Sending love and hugs your way...

Deborah Ann said...

Wow Lorraine! I mean, wow! This is an award-winning tribute. I can just see your mom clapping her hands and wiggling her toes, proud as can be for how her baby girl turned out. It looks like she had a great sense of humor (no likey, haha), and a gift for living life to the fullest.

I lost my mom a while back too. She died on Mother's Day. That was hard at first, but now I think that God, in His infinite wisdom, gave her special honor - ushering her into heaven after a long and joy-filled life of raising all nine of her baby piggies.

Have a blessed week. Hopefully it's warmer in your neck of the woods than it is here...Geez, we never even had spring. Hoping we'll have summer...

A multi-dimensional life said...

Thank you so much for all your encouragment. Deborah, I'm sorry that you lost your mom on mother's day. I'm sure that was hard, but as you said, God gave her a special honor ushering her into heaven on that day. You are blessed to recognize that! I feel the same way, as my mom was ushered in on Christmas Eve. What a birthday celebration that must have been!

Joy McMillan said...

What a lovely tribute to your momma! It seems her passion for life (and food) was hereditary...and you got a fabulous dose of it :)

Anonymous said...

A little late... but I hope you had a great Mother's Day :-)

I love your poem!

~Ron

God Is Enthralled By Your Beauty said...

I wanted to come by for another visit to see if you had posted another beautiful post. You are lovely Lorraine!!! I enjoy visiting you via blog world. ;)

Toyin O. said...

Just dropping by to say hi to my favroite blogger; hope you have a great weekend.

Shanda said...

What a treasure to have to remember your mother by; a mother that obviously loved you so much.

Sarah-Jane - SiliconeMoulds.com said...

What a fantastic and thoughtful cousin you have....

The memories you share could not be more intense. Thank you so much for sharing your treasure and those memories with us.

Your mother will always be in your heart and in your mind x

Pamela said...

Oh, I am so happy you told me about this post. It's a beautiful post full of emotion -- a tribute to the mother you so loved. I'm honored to have read it.

Sudha said...

What a beautiful and touching post,Lorraine - left me full with emotions.I love my Maa very very much and I can understand how much you must miss her everyday.Your Mom must have been so proud of her girl:)Lovely post,dear friend!

A multi-dimensional life said...

Thank you all so much for your beautiful comments!

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