Every Day is Precious

My Mama holding a plaque I made for her a while back.
It says "the heart that gives gathers".
  She has always been a very giving person.

(This is a repeat of my post from last Thanksgiving with an update on my Mama at the end)

As I've spent many hours by Mama's bedside over the last month, I've remembered all the things I'm thankful for about her, especially this week, as Thanksgiving approaches. 

My mother is known far and wide as a wonderful cook.  Holidays in the past always brought out her famous Southern pecan pie, which I remember well. (I stopped eating sugar over five years ago, but I can still remember how good it was.)

On Thanksgiving and Christmas, she always cooked a turkey with dressing and giblet gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top (Daddy's favorite), turnip greens and roots (my favorite), potato salad (her granddaughter Melissa's favorite), and broccoli casserole (her granddaughter Amanda's favorite). 



I never understood what a sacrifice it was to make meals like that until I had to start doing it myself.  As Mama grew older, she let us bring some of the special dishes, and then finally gave up cooking all together. 



I'll never forget the year I had to make the holiday dinner all by myself.  I spent hours shopping, then peeling, chopping, stirring, and fussing over all of those favorite dishes.  Wow - it was WORK, and my feet and legs were killing me!!!  I realized then what a labor of love those many years of holiday dinners were. 


This year, Mama will spend Thanksgiving in the nursing home, and it breaks my heart to think about it.  Their food is good, but it's nothing like my Mama's.  We'll eat it together, but it sure won't be the same.  So, if you still have your Mama cooking for you, don't take it for granted.  Thank her for all the hours she has spent in the past to make your holidays special.  It's a gift of love and something to be very thankful for.

Update:  Mama  is now in a nursing home near our home.  She has dementia.  I cooked the meal today using all of her old recipes, and we brought Mama here for dinner.  She ate two plates of food and two pieces of pie.  (I think she's forgotten about watching her girlish figure as she is fond of saying)  We enjoyed my daughter Amanda, her husband William and my grandson Jonathan being with us for the day.
It was a joy to be together because Every Day Is Precious!  I have a plaque on my home with this saying, and I believe it with all my heart.

I'm sharing this over at Spiritual Sundays