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This old gal…
Got home from visiting that daughter of hers to find that someone had gone shopping…well not exactly THAT someone but most possibly a proxy for someone… Some orange someone…some furry someone…some someone that likes to eat and cuddle and eat and sleep and eat and purr… Someone that stops by every morning…someone that visits every evening…someone that makes us worry, makes us smile, makes us feel so very loved… Someone (with the help of someone else) who finished up these Mother Day Adventures with the most kind and thoughtful gift… A funny gift…a clever gift…a gift that has cat-mom me written all over it…coffee, cat, and a pink squishie pillow… It doesn’t get more purr-fect than that… And Pumpkin…agrees…
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Mama-me…
Giving that daughter of hers a hug…a good-bye hug…a good-bye hug in the parking lot after ice cream…noticed something over her shoulder… Artwork…’creative artwork’…’creative artwork’ gracing an old green dumpster… Brought it to her attention…because immature-me still thinks things like that are funny, but not particularly funny in a place like this… “Is that what I think it is?” came the question. “Yes, it is,” she responded with a chuckle. “I didn’t teach middle school for four years not to know what that is.” Got to thinking about artwork…those random pieces in places you don’t expect…abandoned buildings, college dorm hallways, sidewalks, driveways, flea market floors… How the unexpected can make you smile…warm your heart…keep you going when you feel like you can’t take one more step… And so it is…in life…share your gifts…share your talents…use them for good…use them to make a difference…use them to make the world a better place… And that daughter of mine…agrees… This old gal…
Just when she thought things couldn’t get any better, got a message from that daughter of hers…that youngest daughter of hers who moved to Washington DC just about a year ago… ‘Coming to Iowa for some graduations,’ it said, ‘Let’s get together while I’m here.’ And so we did…met up for lunch…a long lunch followed by ice cream…squeezed a year of missing each other into a few precious hours… Talked about this…talked about that…talked about the past, the present, the future…talked about friends, family, the baby that’s on its way… It was a day…a special day…a special mother-daughter day… And so it is…in life…make every day Mother’s Day or Father’s Day…Daughter’s Day or Sister Day…Friends Day or Family Day… Reach out…send a text…say hello… Make someone feel loved… And that daughter of mine…agrees… Mama-me…
Wasn’t a meanie when it came to having a cat on the farm…just didn’t encourage it…didn’t pursue it…but when Little Lucy showed up, she was welcomed…pampered…loved… Found in the machine shed…one of those sheds full of things-we-might-need-one-day left behind by the former generation…rolls of wire…random boards…piles and piles of rusty old stuff… Mother cat nowhere to be found…siblings sadly caught by that rat terrier of ours…but Lucy was saved…rescued…and became the sweetest outside farm cat ever… Until a trip to town one morning…made it to the end of the driveway…heard a clunk…looked in the rear view mirror…and there she was in the middle of the road… Had no idea cats found shelter in the hood of a car…it was horrific…it was traumatic…it was heartbreaking… Got a kitten not long after who sadly ran off in under a few weeks…and that was that when it came to cats… But sometimes in life…it may not be that it’s not meant to be…it just may be…that it’s just not time yet… And that husband of mine…agrees… The blessings…
Just kept coming for this old gal who has the best daughters in the whole wide world… Got a package in the mail…a gift for Mother’s Day…a gift combining so many favorites—Vera Bradley, bags, and cats… It was perfect, absolutely perfect, and sent a text saying so…which started an interesting line of chatting from three ladies who know this old gal better than anyone else… ‘I have to be honest’, came one comment, ‘I never thought I’d see the day you liked cats.’ And she’s not wrong…never liked cats…REALLY never liked cats…was a dog lover…a poodle lover to be exact…had no time for cats… And looking back, kind of wonder why…feel bad…have regrets…lived on a farm for 22 years…had barns and buildings and trees and land… Had daughters…three little daughters who wanted a cat…begged for a cat…had the perfect place for lots of cats… It could have been fun…it would have been fun…but sometimes in life…you don’t know what you’re missing…until you find it… And Pumpkin…agrees… This old gal…
Was blessed to spend time with that daughter of mine on Mother’s Day even though it was filled with sad good-byes… But to be honest…Mama-me had already had a Mother’s Day surprise a few days earlier at a chalkfest…a chalkfest with that granddaughter of ours as featured artist… Saw the kids for the first time since getting home from Texas…chatted, caught up…admired the drawn masterpieces… Was surprised when a gift suddenly showed up in the lap…a gift for Mother’s Day…a thoughtful gift for stepmom-me… Stepmom…tend to blanch at that word, stepmom…it always harboring such a negative vibe…and, not gonna lie, blending families isn’t easy, no matter how old your kids may be… But this card…this gesture…making a little bit of this special day at the chalkfest about an old gal whose goal in life has always been to be the best mom ever…put a new spin on the word stepmom… A positive spin…a happy spin…a stepmom-is-my-friend spin…and if there’s anything as good as being a mom…it’s being a friend…a very special friend… And that husband of mine…agrees… Mama-me…
Couldn’t believe how long it had been since she’d seen that Nebraska daughter of hers…not since her birthday…her birthday in September… Talk to her every day…a quick phone call…sometimes a not-so-quick phone call…but it’s not the same as being there…together…in person… Made the most of our time…hit up those favorite restaurants…did some retail therapy…shopped for baby gifts to send from Grandma and Auntie Smidge… But time always goes so fast…too fast…heartbreakingly fast… “I wish we lived closer,” came the words as we said good-bye…one of us holding back tears…one of holding back tears as she writes this now… Longing for the olden days where little towns were made up of generations…a loving family member just around the corner… But also so proud of those daughters of mine…embracing life…braver than that mother of theirs who was too scared to leave home… And so it is…with age…we treasure the time we have…thankful for every phone call and message…thankful for a few hour meet up or a weekend watching baseball… Thankful for those rare but special moments, when we can just be us… And those daughters of mine…agree… This old gal…
Loves sleepovers with that daughter of mine…her apartment dark, ridiculously cool…that foam mattress the most comfortable thing this side of the moon… Her schedule the schedule she’s used to…the one she grew up with…the one that mother of hers prefers…stay up late and sleep til 9… It does a body good…this old body…easy to fall back on old habits that reigned for 50 years… But wouldn’t you know, that first morning there, 8 o’clock sharp there was noise…loud noise…louder than loud noise right outside the bedroom window… Sounded like someone running a chainsaw, cutting down trees…thought, ‘surely not’, and this was so…not tree trimming…but leaf blowing…loud leaf blowing that went on and on and on and on… And day two…no yard work that morning but dog walkers…earlier than 8…exuberantly chatting away in the yard out front… And so it is…in life…if you have a plan, don’t get your hopes up…and word to the wise…go to bed early…just in case… And that daughter of mine…agrees… Baseball-loving me…
Watched two games…sat in different areas for each…one near the field on third baseline…could see players up close…hear the chatter in the dugout…the other higher up the first base side…had a great view of the batter’s box… And it was perfect…more than perfect…snacked on cheesy fries and popcorn…cheered with the crowd…saw two amazing wins…was part of a record breaking attendance number… That daughter of mine, so like her mother, making friends with those sitting near…one a retired teacher…one there for his grandson’s birthday… And suddenly Huskers-fans-us were part of something bigger…friends, comrades, a team…clapping…cheering…celebrating… And so it is…in life…what a thrill it is to be a part of something—something good…something wholesome…something fun… Celebrating your people…whether win or lose…together… And that daughter of mine…agrees… That daughter of mine…
Is an assistant academic counselor…works with student athletes…has learned a lot about collegiate sports…likes to cheer on the various teams… Invited mama-me to come see the last home baseball series of the season…Nebraska vs Iowa…perfect weather…Mother’s Day weekend…quality time with someone special… Packed the bags and headed out…excited to see that girl of mine but just as excited to watch baseball because baseball was a thing growing up…the ‘St. Louis Cardinals’ was a thing growing up… That family of mine obsessed…watched games on TV…listened to them on the radio…took a trip to St. Louis once a year to watch them live… Those were the days…fun family days…young-me eating the best chili dog ever crushing on Keith Hernandez days…that thing called baseball bringing us all together… And who knew here we’d be 50 years later…mother and daughter…bonding over that thing called baseball…crooning our hearts out during 7th inning stretch… Take me out to the ballgame…Take me out to the crowd… It doesn’t get any better than that… And that daughter of mine…agrees… |
This Old Gal
Devoted Wife Magical Mom Retired Teacher Embracing life's grand adventures with humor and grace. Archives
June 2026
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