Sunday, May 11, 2008

Mumma

In honor of Mother's Day I thought I'd do a little tribute to my own mother, or Mumma, as is commonly said around here. (And Mumma is pronounced Muh' muh. Not Mah ' muh. Muh' muh.)

My mother:

- is incredibly beautiful, always has been.

- loves animals. She has been known to pull over on the side of the road to rescue turtles from impending death. One time she rescued a SKUNK whose head was stuck in a jar. She lifted the jar up to shake the little rascal free and guess what she got in return? A skunk-stenched shower. Do you know how long it takes to get rid of skunk smell? Mr. Skunk went on to lead a happy life while my sisters and I kept a healthy distance from my mother until we could breathe again.

- is an amazing, mostly self-taught artist. She recently took some really old windows from the farmhouse she lives in and painted Christmas scenes on them. They are absolutely stunning, and I'm trying to get her to enter them in an art show.

- is a very gifted piano player and singer. She can play any song you want by ear and sang in a quasi-professional group in her youth.

- is very smart and knows more about most topics than I ever will. She absorbs information like a sponge, subscribes to a couple of science magazines and can debate most anything very adeptly. The extent of my science knowledge is as follows: Insert sounds of crickets chirping here.

- attended every sporting event my sisters and I ever had, which was a LOT. She also spearheaded a fund-raising campaign that earned enough money to put in a track at the local high school.

- cooks just like her mother did, meaning that she can take what appears to be minimal ingredients and concoct a feast fit for a king. She is an old-fashioned, Southern style cook. Stewed tomatoes, spoon bread, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, kale, collard greens, oh my heavens I'm getting hungry.

-was and still is very athletic. She was one of the first females to receive a varsity letter for basketball from Gloucester High School (they played half-court back then). She and I and my middle sister also played on a summer softball league when I was a senior in high school. She threw better than I could and hit that ball like nobody's business. These days our physical fitness is limited to walking and going to Curves, but she can keep up with the best of 'em.

-was the only person I wanted around me after I had my first baby. I read every baby book known to man and tried to follow the doctor's instructions to the letter, and she was wise enough to teach me that one size does not fit all babies, and you have to do what feels natural. For example, when my son was gnawing his fists and crying all the time, she suggested we feed him some rice cereal. Rice cereal was not on the Approved List of Things To Do for many weeks or months yet, according to the books. Well, when nothing else would work, we tried the rice cereal, and baby boy finally got what he wanted. There is no substitute for one's own mother when you are learning the ropes. No substitute.

I could go on and on about my mother, but I'll end with this: I love Mumma and am very grateful to her for all she has done and all the sacrifices she made for us. Most of all I'm glad she's still around to support me.

And, of course, cook that fried chicken.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mama is what I call my mother , as well. She is the best mother in the world. She can cook and tell you stories of stuff you've never heard of. That generation was taught from experience, not books.
My son had to be fed rice cereal when he was 2 weeks old. The doctor wouldn't have heard of it. I did it because my mother said that boy is hungry, feed him some cereal. She was right. She is always right, about everything.
I hope my son respects me like that when he is my age.
I would also like to add that your mother was and still is one of the most beautiful women I've ever known. She is also the only person I know to fall down a flight of stairs, live to tell about it, with a bruised pinky.
Happy Mothers Day to ypu, cbw, and tell your mom I said "hi"

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Cats, thank you so much for commenting, it is always good to hear your stories. You do have a wonderful mother, a very sweet lady. Two weeks for rice cereal!! That beats my record of about 10 weeks, but my mother said the exact same thing: that boy is HUNGRY.

Yes, the fall down the stairs was quite the story.

Happy Mothers Day to you, too, cats! Enjoy the day.

Roz said...

Hi Chesapeake Bay Woman

I found you from BOSSY's and I like all your stories so much. Just wanted to say Hello--

Anonymous said...

Roz,
Are you from Mathews? I would like to hear your input. Nice to hear from a new blogger. I grew up with cbw and we are distant cousins.

foolery said...

A lovely tribute, sniff. Can't imagine not having Mom down the street, or a phone call away. She is my world.

Happy Mother's Day, my Bloggywood friend.

Laurie

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Roz, it is so nice to have a new commenter here - thank you for visiting!

cats - I was just today trying to explain to my kids our relationship and all I could come up with was second or third cousins. We need to figure this out!

And Foolery, you also had a very lovely tribute to your mother on your awesome blog, but I agree. I cannot imagine life without my mother. I suppose it is an inevitability, but I cannot go there. I really enjoy having her next door.


Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Anonymous said...

I've had the pleasure of meeting mumma. She is truly a gem. So lovely, just like her girl. Happy Mother's Day to Mumma's pride and joy.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Hey, Kaffy - I hope you had a wonderful day as well. Thanks for the kind words about my mother. She thinks the world of you.

Have a great week.

MommyTime said...

Both my kids call me Mama pronounced Muh-mah. For no reason I can fathom, except that's the way they like to say it. And we don't live anywhere near Chesapeake Bay -- or any Bay, for that matter.

I just found your site for the first time today, and I LOVE it. I can't wait to come back and read more!

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Mommytime - Glad to have you here and very interesting that your kids call you that. I've always thought it was a regional thing, mostly southern, but who knows.

Maybe your kids are channeling their inner southern charm!

Thanks for visiting and commenting.

Icey said...

Mumma rocks!!