Mother's Day Poem: One Race

Germinated
In the womb of Africa
Humanity sent shoots worldwide

 

This poem is also posted in today's entry of Writing in Snow in my writing.com port. This journal is under Awardicon Items. I am  Prosperous Snow.

 

Mother's Day 2017

I visited my mother's grave site today. It's the first time in a couple of years that I went to Palm Mortuary and  Cemetery, at 7600 South Eastern Avenue, in Las Vegas. The reason I haven't visited Mom's grave more often is that it's difficult to find. I found her grave, with the help of some of the employees. I attempted to take a picture of the gravestone, without success. I'll have to read the instructions for the camera in my smartphone. I did get some pictures, but not of Mom's headstone. I said a prayer for my mother's soul before leaving. 

Mother's Day is sad, 

I can't give Mom a Mother's Day card 

Or take her out for prime rib. 

Missing Mama

Fiḍál (Grace), 13 Jamál (Beauty) 174 Badi - Tuesday, May 9, 2017 CE about 4:51 PM  Pacific Daylight Time 

Five days until Mother's Day 2017. It's been over four years since Mom passed away. My mother's spirit left her physical body on November 29, 2012. The last Mother's Day I celebrated with Mama was Sunday, May 13. It wasn't much of a celebration because Mom was afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. I don't know if she even realized it was Mother's Day. 

On the morning of May 13, 2012, I made coffee and served Mom chocolates with her meal. Someone (I think one of my brother's or family friend) sent her roses. Roses were Mom's favorite flower, she especially liked red roses. We spent the day at home because it was difficult for me to get Mom in and out of the car to go out to eat. We watched television and talked. To this day I don't know whether Mom knew if I was her mother or daughter. 

I miss Mama so much. Everytime I see an ad for a Mother's Day present, I want to cry. Normally ad on websites or sent to my e-mail box don't bother me. The exception is Mother's Day ads. Mom isn't here for me to give her roses or chocolates. She isn't here to hear me say "I love you, Mama" and then kiss her on the cheek. I can say prayers for the departed. I can talk to Mom in my mind, but she isn't physically here to listen to what I have to say.  

I know that Mom is in the Abha Paradise. I know she no longer suffers the effects of Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's affect the brain and not the soul. I still cry because it hurts so much that Mama isn't here to celebrate Mother's Day or any holiday we always celebrated. 

Spiritual Sunday: Mama taught me how to pray - A Mother's Day Poem

Jamal (Beauty), 13 Jamál (Beauty), 172 BE - Sunday, May 10, 2015 7:20 an Pacific Daylight Time

Mama taught me how to pray,
"Now I lay me down to sleep,"
I said this prayer every night,
I knew my soul the Lord would keep.

Today she walks in paradise,
With my grandmother by her side,
They were always the best of friends
In God's garden they now abide.

Mama taught me how to pray,
So on this Mother's Day I write,
About the prayer she taught me
To say before I slept each night.

Sundry Sunday: Mother's Day

Jamál (Beauty), 14 Jamál (Beauty), 171 BE - Sunday, May 11, 2014 about 7:28 am Pacific Daylight Time

On this second Sunday in May,
I celebrate Mother's Day,
with a hot cup of Café Mocha
made with Rich Chocolate Ovaltine©
and remember Mama's smile
the first time
I made it for her.

On this second Sunday in May,
I celebrate Mother's Day,
I open my prayer book to read
a prayer for the departed
and remember Mama's favorite prayer
was the one for protection
that she read
before going to work each day
at the old Showboat.

On this second Sunday in May,
I celebrate Mother's Day,
by calling my sister-in-laws
to wish them
a Happy Mother's Day.

Midweek Reflections: I need to get out of the house

‘Idál (Justice), 11 Jamál (Beauty), 170 BE - Wednesday, May 8, 2013 about 2:30 PM Pacific Time

I think I need to get out of the house for more the a few minutes at a time. I need to go somewhere besides to the garage. Last week I went out of the house twice, both times before I completely recovered from being ill. I am feeling better today, so tomorrow I will get out of the house and go to the store or the gas station.

Is it cabin fever?
I look at the clouds covering the sky,
I want to do something
besides house work.

I need to get out of the house more. I need to do something out of the ordinary, at least once a month. Perhaps I need to go out to eat, I have not been to a restaurant in two or three months. The only problems is deciding which restaurant I want to go for lunch or dinner. Maybe I will go out on Mother's Day, after I visit Mom's grave.

Thinking about Mother's Day

Fiḍál (Grace), 10 Jamál (Beauty), 170 BE - Tuesday, May 7, 2013 about 3:43 PM Pacific Time

All day I have watched the wind blow through the boughs of the trees in my neighborhood. All day I have watch the clouds gather in the sky. This afternoon it is mostly cloudy, with patches of blue sky showing through. Sunday is Mother's Day, the first Mother's Day I will spend without Mom. The first Mother's Day I will not have a gift for her.

All day I have watched the clouds and the wind. All day I have though about Mom and Mother's Day. I will go to the cemetery to visit her grave. I will take my prayer book and read a prayer for the departed. I will not put flowers on her grave because I do not have enough money to purchase her a bouquet  of her favorite flowers. I will say a prayer for the departed, but I cannot put a bouquet of red roses on her grave. How I would love to purchase a bouquet of roses for Mama for Mother's Day, but I do not have enough money in my bank account.

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 8, 2011

Jamál (Beauty), 4 Jamál (Beauty), 168 BE – Sunday, May 1, 2011 about 3:14 PM Pacific Time

Mother’s Day is in one week. I am not sure what to get Mom, last year I bought her a giant Mother’s Day card at the 99¢ Only Store. I would like to get her something different in 2011, but I have no idea what.

I found a photo of Mom and me, which I am posting with this entry. We set for the photo several years ago when Mom still worked at the Showboat Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. At the time, Mom worked as a food server in the coffee shop.

Mom enjoyed working in the coffee shop and she liked the people that worked with her. I do not know how much Mom remembers of that part of her life. I do not know if Mom remembers sitting for the photo. The Alzheimer’s disease has taken its toll on her and on the family. I never know what Mom remembers of yesterday or of the past ten or twenty years.

I attempt to get her to talk about the Showboat, sometimes she will talk about those years and sometimes she is silent. I will see what I can do to get her to talk about it this week; perhaps she will say something that I can use in a Mother’s Day gift.

I miss the woman my mother was before the Alzheimer’s disease. I am my mother caregiver and Mom is not the same woman who worked as a food server in the coffee shop at the Showboat. Then Mom was independent and happy.

Mother’s Day 2010

Jamál (Beauty), 12 Jamál (Beauty), 167 BE – Sunday, May 9, 2010 about 6:00 PM Pacific Time

Mom and I stayed home today and I fixed one of her favorite meals. Mom likes fried potatoes and gravy, therefore, I fried some finger potatoes with a couple of cans of chicken. After that was cooked, I made gravy using canned milk. Mom enjoyed the meal and she enjoyed talking to my brothers and sister.

All three of my sibling called Mom today and she talked with them and with a few of her grandchildren. My mother has eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren. I know Mom would enjoy having all of them in town at the same time, but that is difficult to arrange. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to send Mom to visit them at different times of the year.

Mom's getting a new hearing aid next week and in about ten days she will have a new pair of glasses. The hearing aid and the glasses will make life a little easier because she will hear and see better. Mom's still going to have to use a magnifying glass to read, but then I think I may have to get a magnifying glass myself because the words in some of the magazines are so small.

Mother's Day is in May

Istiqlál (Independence), 3 Jamál (Beauty), 167 BE – Friday, April 30, 2010 about 4:30 PM Pacific Time

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9, I'm not sure what Mom and I are going to do that day. I know she wants to have her hair cut and colored, so I think next week we'll go to the beauty parlor. Then on May 9 perhaps go somewhere to eat.

I know what I'd like to get Mom for Mother's Day. I'd like to get her a hearing aid, but that's a bit out of my price range. I can scrape the money together for the down payment, however, the problem is the rest of the money after the hearing aid arrives. We're going to have to pay for it in full, which is the problem.

A hearing aid would make life so much easier, I'll just have figure something out. I may end up getting her a reconditioned hearing aid, I didn't want to do that, but I may have no other choice. The weekend is coming up, so I'll deal with the hearing aid issue on Monday.

Mother's Day Approaches

Jamál (Beauty), 7 Jamál (Beauty), 165 B.E. – Sunday, May 4, 2008 about 9:39 AM PDT

Mother's day is coming and I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do for Mom on that day. Thinking back over my childhood I remember things my siblings and I did for Mom when we were growing up. One year we served her breakfast in bed. She enjoyed that, especially since we didn't burn the breakfast or the house down and cleaned up afterwards. However, I don't think breakfast in bed is going to do it this year.

Maybe I'll write a poem for her. I don't think I've ever written a poem specifically for my mother for Mother's Day. I've written Mother's Day Poems, but not one dedicated to Mom. I don't know why I've never written a Mother's Day poem to my mother. I suppose that would be a good subject to explore in my off line journal. I could do a blog entry about memories I have of Mom and growing up.

My mother is 87 years young. I'm worried about some of the things she does, but I think that's normal. She doesn't do anything odd or off beat, it's just that sometimes she does things differently from the way she did them when she went into the hospital last year. I'm going to talk to her doctor about that at her next appointment. Maybe I should write everything down I want to talk to her doctor about.

I want Mom to write down the things she remembers about her childhood and being a young woman. Perhaps I'll get her a blank book for that. Then she can write down everything she remembers and talks about. My mother is an exceptional person. She is wonderful and loving. She raised my siblings and me practically alone. True she did have some help from grandma and grandpa, but she did most of the job herself and held down a full time job. That doesn't seem like a lot today, but when I was a child it was unusual.