Grace Armenda Vae Clark ●
July 8, 1920 - Dec. 13 , 2000
The grace of God most often flows to us through others. I believe the most eloquent human conduit of this grace is a mother.
The thing with mothers is that, as a child of one, you’re always a child. Dads more or less let their kids grow up. With mom, you’re forever her “baby” even when you’re in your high forties and beyond. It can be really annoying at times. Especially when you’re with her and others are around and she launches into her favorite “most embarrassing moment but oh so adorable" story about you. Like the one time you got mad and stomped out the door muttering, “Nag, nag, nag. Every day it’s the same old thing: Comb your hair, blow your nose, tie your shoes! I’m just going outside to play for crying out loud!”
She thought it was
cute. You keep telling her that you and cute parted company over three
decades ago, but she remains unfazed and merely responds with something
like “Whatever you say, my little precious. Would you like me to make
some brownies for you, dear?”
Of course, you say yes! Being babied can also be quite wonderful.
For instance, when you’ve got a sore throat that you know is really a terminal illness masquerading as a cold, having mom around wouldn’t be such a bad thing, especially when you’re all alone in New Jersey. She could cure anything with a mere caress of your cheek and kiss on the forehead. Moms are medicinal marvels!
So, it’s not always such a bad thing to be babied. And moms know that.
That’s why they do it no matter how much we object and fuss. They just take it in stride and give us another spit bath, wiping away the smudges of the most recent of life’s hurts and disappointments.
My mom did that with me often. Babying me was just one of her ways of dispensing grace, which was why she was so aptly named, Grace.
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I miss my Mom. But I am glad for the wonderful memories. What about you? Please share about your mom in the comments!
Of course, you say yes! Being babied can also be quite wonderful.
For instance, when you’ve got a sore throat that you know is really a terminal illness masquerading as a cold, having mom around wouldn’t be such a bad thing, especially when you’re all alone in New Jersey. She could cure anything with a mere caress of your cheek and kiss on the forehead. Moms are medicinal marvels!
So, it’s not always such a bad thing to be babied. And moms know that.
That’s why they do it no matter how much we object and fuss. They just take it in stride and give us another spit bath, wiping away the smudges of the most recent of life’s hurts and disappointments.
My mom did that with me often. Babying me was just one of her ways of dispensing grace, which was why she was so aptly named, Grace.
(Originally written December, 2000,
http://www.stephenrclark.com/bio/parents.htm)
http://www.stephenrclark.com/bio/parents.htm)
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I have such admiration for my mother who persevered with acute glaucoma that gradually took most of her eyesight. She learned to read Braille, took avantage of Talking Books records, and didn't hang back. She lived in hope which was part of her faith. And she passed that on to me.
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