My First Mother's Day

In May of 1956 I was looking forward to my first Mother's Day. Paul was in Korea and would not be home to celebrate this special day with me. In fact he would be away until the following spring. Kathy had been born in August of 1955 and her daddy had only seen her on two short visits home. It would have been a lonely time for me, but I had my family nearby and I kept busy. I loved being a mother despite my very young age. I was just eighteen years old when Kathy was born. I was nineteen that December.

My sisters were often with me and enjoyed the role of being aunts. Donna and Betty were in high school. Donna was a senior and Betty was a sophomore at Coronado High School. Donna had some friends that were planning a bridal shower for one of her good friends. Since Donna was at my house more than she was at home with Mom and Dad she invited her friends to use my house for the shower. My sisters and I did not do anything to get into trouble. In fact we went to Sunday School and Church. We did not drink or smoke. We may have tried these things at one time, but we did not enjoy them.

It was the evening before Mother's Day when the shower was held at my house. I barely knew Donna's friends. They planned an after shower party too and that didn't sound good to me, but I was promised all would be well. The bridal shower went well. Then a bunch of friends of Donna's friends showed up. I was not outspoken as I would be now days. I was intimidated by these people. And I had laryngitis so could barely speak. I hid out in my room. There was only a curtain for a door between the front room and my bedroom so I was aware of the drinking. When they started throwing up I gained enough strength to say "get out of my house."

My neighbors certainly did not appreciate what was happening. I think somebody even called the police. They would not have known I was an innocent victim in all of this. The police may have talked to some of the kids outside, but I was not approached. Actually some of the kids knew the police so nothing happened. I'm not discrediting the police though, as I don't know for sure what took place. The next morning I saw evidence of the drinking in my yard. What would my neighbors think of me now? I never knew.

The next morning I got up as I did every Sunday morning and got little Kathy and myself ready for church. It was my first Mother's Day. I was not about to miss church.

Over the years I was impressed with the mothers being honored on Mother's Day during church. There would be flowers for the mother with the most children. There were flowers for the oldest mother. And there were other honors including the youngest mother. I just knew I would be honored for being the youngest mother. How could anyone else be the youngest mother there that day? I was also faithful in being there. I was even there on a day that I was sick with a sore throat. I had to be there. It was my first Mother's Day.

You can probably see this coming. The mother with the youngest baby got the flowers instead. My baby was eight months old. There was a mother with a new baby and she was recognized. I was hoping nobody realized that I was disappointed. I wanted to save face. I guess I was cool about it. My moment was not to be. Hopefully I learned something positive in this experience.

As I got older I knew not to expect laurels for just doing my job. The best I can receive is knowing my children appreciate me. It is an honor to be the mother of my four dear children. It is an extra blessing to be a grandmother and a great grandmother. Love to each one. Hugs  :)

A New Season

Spring has sprung, a new season has begun. We started the season with what was supposed to be a big storm. It brought wind and rain, and was cold for southern California. I would say it was short lived unless we are in for more of the storm. The sun is out at this time.

I was enjoying the sweet sounds of a favorite bird in our yard this morning. The cheery little house finch was singing his favorite tune to rid our day of any gloom. This little bird is partly colored in red, especially the male bird. In the bird kingdom the males are the most colorful. This time of year there are several birds sporting yellow. One of them is the yellow rumped warbler.

For a number of years we had a yellow rumped warbler that visited us each time it passed through our neighborhood. It would tap on our kitchen window. We couldn't figure out if it saw its own reflection or if there was something else that he saw and wanted. This was an annual event which greatly entertained us. I don't know how long these birds live and if this was really the same one each year. This ritual has ceased for now. We also have different windows now.

Mockingbirds are quite entertaining too. If you hear a bird singing at all hours of the day and night it could be a mockingbird. They have a variety of songs. They are called mockingbirds because they do mock sounds they hear. They are sassy little guys too.

If you have ever been attacked by a bird it could be a blackbird protecting its nest. They are very protective of their nests. Mockingbirds could also do the same.

Crows are in abundance now days. They can be mean to the other birds. They kill the young of other birds. I don't mind hearing the caw caw caw of crows, but I don't like them bothering the smaller birds. We also see ravens sometimes. They are similar to crows and hard to tell apart if you aren't into birding. Ravens are larger than crows and there are other small differences. Crows are in larger groups.

To learn more about any birds mentioned here you can look them up on Google or purchase a good bird book. San Diego is a good place to be to enjoy many varieties of birds.

Spring started on March 20th, but the first full day of spring is on the 21st. That bit of information was in the news. In the spring we have warmer days to look forward to as well as many lovely flowers in bloom. Laura has many flowers in her garden in our front yard. There aren't really any for picking for bouquets, but we can enjoy the color as we walk towards the house. There are succulents and bulbs as well as lavender and many others. I guess green is the dominant color though.

I love pretty blue skies with fluffy clouds for the background on my pictures. Many people like just the pretty blue sky, but I think it is prettier with big fluffy clouds right after a storm. Looking east and seeing snow covered mountains in the winter is a treat too. It was supposed to snow in our mountains during our recent storm. I don't know if it did or not. We got to see snow when we went to the mountains with Bill when he was here.

Where else can you go to the mountains and desert as well as the beach all in one day? San Diego is the place to be.

image credits: wjklos; Noël Zia Lee; pheαnix