Thanks, Mom....

Remember how at one point I said I'd keep up with this? I guess I kind of failed at that. But today I was sitting here thinking. I know, watch out, right?

I was thinking about a cookbook my mom gave me when I got married. It was called "My Favorite Recipes" and it was basically blank recipe pages where you write in your own recipes. Mom had filled in a few here and there, with recipes for things she used to make for us when we were kids, most importantly her "Pigs in the Blanket". Now I know all you Missourians are thinking of those nasty little dough wrapped hot dogs right now, but those of us from Michigan know that "Pigs" are actually stuffed cabbage! And, boy, could my mom cook!

Some of these recipes were "extras" she stuck in there. She'd gone through magazines and newspapers, found things she thought I'd like, and cut them out. Then she glued them onto index cards. If there was a photo, she glued those on, too. But these were just the "extras", as I said. Her actual recipes were hand written in the book. Maybe not such a big deal to everyone, but by this point in time, the whole book was actually a VERY big deal.

By this time in her life, Mom was not as healthy as she once was. She also had very little money. Somehow, even with no money, as long as she was physically able to shop, she made sure and buy gifts for holidays or special events. Sometimes these gifts only cost a dollar or two, but they were picked out specifically for the person she was buying for. They would be wrapped, as best as she could wrap them, and sometimes the nametag was a torn off corner of a sheet of notebook paper - but it had your name on it. She didn't really have money for wedding gifts, but she bought this book. She didn't have money for the extras like magazines and index cards, but she got them. And with her physical condition getting worse, it probably wasn't an easy task to put it all together, and especially to hand write the most special recipes for me.

And knowing my Mom, she probably felt bad that it was an inexpensive gift, when we had received so many other, more expensive things. Little did she know, that book was and still is my favorite gift. She didn't know that just being able to open that recipe book, and look at my mothers handwriting, so long after we lost her, is a gift in itself and I'm so thankful for that wedding present.

So I was thinking about this present, and wondering if maybe, someday, someone would want to look at my handwriting. Maybe read my thoughts, or just my account of the world as it is today. I wondered if maybe I should start journaling, so that someday, when I'm gone, someone might find it and want to read a little of it. Something to think about I guess - but in the meantime, it reminded me that I haven't kept up this online journal at all. No handwriting - sorry - but you can still read my rambling thoughts.

Anyway, thanks Mom.