I had such a happy Mother's Day today. I think every Mother's Day will be incredibly special for me (see below on becoming a mother). We had the standard singing by the Primary kids today, we had a special breakfast before church, and I got to to to Relief Society where we had ice cream sundaes!
But once I was home from church and making dinner, my thoughts turned to my mothers. My own mother is incredibly smart, beautiful, talented, and funny. My mother in law raised the best husband in the world and loves her in-laws like her own.
But, perhaps inspired by our discussion of the pioneers in Relief Society today, my thoughts turned to my great and great-great grandmothers Lydia Knight and Johanna Oscarson. I was making some banana bread with our brown bananas when the thought occurred to me that these women went through times when there was no extra food to be used up in some creative and indulgent way. Do we really NEED banana bread? It's just a way to justify buying 10 bananas at once at Costco. I thought about how they took care of their families without husbands around - without electricity and mixers and ovens and church DVD's to keep their kids busy while they made Sunday dinner. I thought about what they would have eaten for Sunday dinner during those hard times.
As I dumped butter into the mixing bowl, I thought about Lydia Knight's story of the tithing and the butter. She had just arrived in the Salt Lake valley and had only one cow with one little patch of grass for it to eat. They churned butter and decided to give it all to their bishop as tithing with the faith that their little cow would produce more milk and give them more butter to last through the winter.
I am grateful for the women in my family who I don't know but who I cannot wait to meet and thank one day. Their sacrifices have blessed me with the light of the Spirit, the peace of the gospel, and the faith to face the unknown.
So, happy Mother's Day to all of you who are in the trenches with me right now, and to those of you who have paved the way to give me all of the blessings I enjoy. I hope I can continue in your tradition of sacrifice and bring honor to you and blessings to my posterity.
Soccer Practice
7 comments:
Wow, your ward went all out! It sounds like it must have been a nice day. I sometimes think about mothers (particularly my ancestors also) that raised children in such a different time from me...how they did so so much all day every day just to run a household on top of taking care of their children (without disposable diapers and other "conveniences" we have now). I really admire them. But we have our own challenges today, and many of the same ones (as you know!). You're a wonderful mother Kristina, happy belated mother's day!
You did a fabulous Mother's Day...if we ever move again, I'm looking for a ward that serves ice-cream sundaes...perfectly perfect. And thank you for the beautiful tribute to the mothers, both past and present, that have paved the road for us. They truly deserve so much love and respect! Happy Mother's Day!
What a touching story and inspiring sentiments. I am grateful to share such a heritage!!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts so beautifully. We have a great heritage and so much to be thankful for!
Happy Belated Mother's day to you! What a great mom you are to those little boys! Your post made me think about all of the comforts we enjoy as mothers. Just last night I was debating in my head whether or not I should get an epidural this time and your post made me think that back then, it wasn't even an option. Especially those who gave birth on the trail, they just did it and kept moving. Maybe I'll get one for their sake. Amazing women and amazing legacies we come from. Thanks for what you wrote!
Oh I just love you! Thank you for that inspiring post. I throw my brown bananas away--what would those greats think of me! We do have good women in our family, and I too am grateful for the reminder.
yay! i didn't know you had a blog! blogs are so much fun! check ours out at www.theclementclan.blogspot.com!
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