This evening I put pencil to paper to draft this blog entry. The local news played in the background, displaying a myriad of bright colors to illustrate the dangerous storm front moving into the area. There was the occasional break in by the National Weather Service updating the surrounding counties under the Tornado Watch. For my Virginia neighbors, you know that we have been experiencing far too many of these damaging storms lately (as evidenced by the heavy damage at Page Middle School and loss of life in Glouceter County).
As the sound of thunder rolled in the distance, I figured I'd play it safe and leave the computer turned off. No sense risking a power surge that could possibly damage it. So after scrounging around for some notebook paper, I set about the task of writing this entry, keeping a wary eye on the conditions out the window and an ear open for those NWS bulletins.
I couldn't help but think back to the tornado my family and I survived when I was about age 7. It was a beautiful day--a hot one though (much like today). My sisters and I were playing in the front yard--hopscotch if memory serves me correctly. We noticed the wind pick up by paid it little mind--oblivious to how green the sky was growing. There was a funny smell in the air as I recall. What I remember the most, aside from the sound of a freight train, was standing there motionless watching the cloud descend. The next thing I kenw, I felt an intense pain in the back of my head as my mother jerked me up by my pony tail. I was so mesmerized by the storm I hadn't heard her screaming my name. We ran into the house and were huddled in the hallway in the center of the house. Mom threw a blanket over the three of us, told us to hang on to one another, and that she loved us. The tornado seemed to bounce back and forth across the street and hit every other house. We were one of the lucky ones. Our house was skipped and left relativelyb unscathed by flying debris.
Thinking back, I don't remember my mother telling me that she loved me very often while I was growing up. I'm sure she did so more often than I actually remember. Buty my sisters and I grew up part of a growing statistic--products of divorced parents. So life wasn't always very easy for us. We weren't a family that shared our emotions with each other. So as an adult, I haven't found it very easy to express those feelings to them now.
Mother's Day always presents a challenge--not so much in terms of what to buy for her but what to say to her in a greeting card. Sappy lines of prose don't really fit. Picturesque description of childhood memories don't often apply. However, this year, things are a little different. See, my mother is beginning to have great difficulty with her memory. As the memory loss worsens, she has begun experiencing high anxiety. She now makes a point to tell me she loves me every time we talk.
So now my focus ha shifted--finding the words to use in a greeting card isn't so much about reminiscing about childhood events. It has become more about letting my mother know that I'm here for her, love her, and want to enjoy the time we have together now. I noticed that she has already started having a hard time calling me by my name, often calling me by one of my sisters'. Keeping this in mind, I created a design based on the premise of a family tree--incorporating all three of our names.
I've framed the print in a floating frame and paired it with a matching card. This design has been made available for sale on our Etsy site. It will be personalized with your own names and your choice of colors. It will be shipped out in Priority Mail, but be sure to order soon to make sure it's received in time for Mother's Day on May 8th (although it would also make a good birthday gift as well).
Whatever you give your mother this year, make sure you're focusing on what is more important--letting her knjow you love her.
Oh, and by the way, 5 tornadoes touched down in our area tonight. The damage reports won't be in until morning and we have another storm line heading to the area later tonight. However, my neighborhood didn't experience the brunt of the storm and I'm grateful. I hope you and your family are also safe. Time to shut down the computer for the next round...
As the sound of thunder rolled in the distance, I figured I'd play it safe and leave the computer turned off. No sense risking a power surge that could possibly damage it. So after scrounging around for some notebook paper, I set about the task of writing this entry, keeping a wary eye on the conditions out the window and an ear open for those NWS bulletins.
I couldn't help but think back to the tornado my family and I survived when I was about age 7. It was a beautiful day--a hot one though (much like today). My sisters and I were playing in the front yard--hopscotch if memory serves me correctly. We noticed the wind pick up by paid it little mind--oblivious to how green the sky was growing. There was a funny smell in the air as I recall. What I remember the most, aside from the sound of a freight train, was standing there motionless watching the cloud descend. The next thing I kenw, I felt an intense pain in the back of my head as my mother jerked me up by my pony tail. I was so mesmerized by the storm I hadn't heard her screaming my name. We ran into the house and were huddled in the hallway in the center of the house. Mom threw a blanket over the three of us, told us to hang on to one another, and that she loved us. The tornado seemed to bounce back and forth across the street and hit every other house. We were one of the lucky ones. Our house was skipped and left relativelyb unscathed by flying debris.
Thinking back, I don't remember my mother telling me that she loved me very often while I was growing up. I'm sure she did so more often than I actually remember. Buty my sisters and I grew up part of a growing statistic--products of divorced parents. So life wasn't always very easy for us. We weren't a family that shared our emotions with each other. So as an adult, I haven't found it very easy to express those feelings to them now.
Mother's Day always presents a challenge--not so much in terms of what to buy for her but what to say to her in a greeting card. Sappy lines of prose don't really fit. Picturesque description of childhood memories don't often apply. However, this year, things are a little different. See, my mother is beginning to have great difficulty with her memory. As the memory loss worsens, she has begun experiencing high anxiety. She now makes a point to tell me she loves me every time we talk.
So now my focus ha shifted--finding the words to use in a greeting card isn't so much about reminiscing about childhood events. It has become more about letting my mother know that I'm here for her, love her, and want to enjoy the time we have together now. I noticed that she has already started having a hard time calling me by my name, often calling me by one of my sisters'. Keeping this in mind, I created a design based on the premise of a family tree--incorporating all three of our names.
I've framed the print in a floating frame and paired it with a matching card. This design has been made available for sale on our Etsy site. It will be personalized with your own names and your choice of colors. It will be shipped out in Priority Mail, but be sure to order soon to make sure it's received in time for Mother's Day on May 8th (although it would also make a good birthday gift as well).
Whatever you give your mother this year, make sure you're focusing on what is more important--letting her knjow you love her.
Oh, and by the way, 5 tornadoes touched down in our area tonight. The damage reports won't be in until morning and we have another storm line heading to the area later tonight. However, my neighborhood didn't experience the brunt of the storm and I'm grateful. I hope you and your family are also safe. Time to shut down the computer for the next round...
