Mother's Day is just around the corner and
most of us this year will be in lock-down.
I thought people might like to share a few
stories about their mothers - just for a change
of topic from politics.

My mother was an orphan, brought up by a grand mother. When granny died she had only distant relatives, distant geographically also. Her whole life was dad & her family.

As a young alone mother she had a pretty rough time during the war, with dad over seas & no support. This precipitated a life long pursuit of the security of bricks & mortar, which dad, one of 7 did not really understand.

It did not help that her only son went flying off aircraft carriers, racing formula 1 cars, or sailing for years around the Pacific islands, out of touch often for months.

She was a great mum, & I have only realised recently just what a great cook she was, when I try to produce loved food from my youth. Only 5 foot & half an inch, she made it to 99, which proved she was a hell of a lot tougher than she looked.

RIP mum.

Dear Hassie,

Thank You for sharing. Your mum sounds like a very
remarkable woman - her life could not have been
an easy one.

My mum was also a remarkable lady.
A very strong, determined, spirited,
brave, funny and loving woman who touched
our hearts and made such a difference in our lives.

She too saw a lot in her lifetime: both beauty and hardship. To
mum family was everything. She loved us all dearly and was
always there for us.

She was so determined to live to be 100 so that she could get
a letter from Australia's head of state. She was hoping it
would still be the Queen - whom mum admired greatly.

Mum and dad along with mum's parents and my older brother
arrived in Australia in 1949 as part of the first wave of
Baltic displaced persons after the Second World War.

Mum and dad worked hard and built a life together also giving
birth to another son and to their only daughter - me.
Life had its ups and downs . They lost a baby boy who died
during the war in Germany. Then mum lost both her parents
due to illness in Australia. She lost her husband in 1970
at the tender age of 52 due to a massive coronary from working
in very difficult conditions in a rubber factory.
Those were tough times.

That's all for now.

don't remember a thing. She died when i was four.

Then i was put on welfare from age of four as a ward of the state.

No tears please.

Dear Chris,

I'm sorry to hear that.

It just goes to show that everything is relative;
everything has its story; and everyone has obstacles
to overcome. They are our greatest teachers.

Foxy, when you don't have something, you dont really miss it. I was in my teens before i realised just how different my situation was.

It may have been much worse if I was older when I lost my mum.

My daughter, however, is lucky to have the greatest mum one can hope for.

She is kind and gentle and never gets involved in the politics of any workplace or situation, although she has strong standards, opinions and is also interested in current affairs.

I am very lucky to have her given my own shortcomings.

Dear Chris,

I think your family is lucky to have you.

From your posts you display a quality that's so
rare - that of tenderness.

God Bless.

Take care and
Stay safe.

Thanks Foxy.

My intensity can be a bit much at times, but i have always had an interest in all aspects of humanity, especially battlers.

Happy Mothers Day to you.

Dear Chris,

Thank You.

And a Happy Mother's Day to your wife.

Talking about battlers. Mum was a strong lady. She
not only survived. She thrived. Many years later we
persuaded mum to move to Melbourne from Sydney to be
near us. While living in Melbourne mum met her second
husband and re-married sharing quite a few happy years
and travelling all over Europe and Lithuania together.

Then tragedy struck again. Her husband suffered a major
stroke which left him partially paralysed and unable to
speak. Mum took car of him at home for over a decade.

She never complained. When he finally had to go into a
nursing home mum visited him daily seven days a week,
come rain or shine.

Mum's twilight years were very difficult. Her health
deteriorated with the onset of dementia. It was a
challenge for the entire family. Mum finally had to go
into a nursing home where both physically, emotionally
and financially the tough time returned.

However, the family stood firm and faced the challenges
together, as they have always done in the past and will
continue to do in the future.

We were so lucky to have had such a mother, grandmother,
great grandmother. So lucky to have had our darling mum
for so many years.

May she rest in peace.

Mum passed away 26th January 2018.

I don't think one is ever ready to experience the
death or the loss of their mother. They are always
usually so present in our lives.

The blessing for our family was that she passed
peacefully and that she knew she was loved.

We shall miss her always.

Hi Foxy,

My Mum was born March 1923, lived to the age of 85, died from heart complications. Born in the bush on a sheep property in the Wellington district of NSW, came from a big family with 12 brother and sisters, she was the fourth youngest. Hard life as a child on a farm. Didn't have a lot of education, Mum finished school at 6th class, in a little one room country school, she always had beautiful handwriting. Grew up during the depression years. Always concerned about others, worked hard from a young age, always happy, brought up us three boys and two step daughters. Loved her grandchildren, all in all had a rather decent life.

Dear Paul,

Growing up on a farm with 12 brothers and sisters
during the Depression years would have been a hard
life. Working hard from a young age and being always
happy - shows a remarkably strong character.

It is interesting to share our family experiences and
see what unites us rather than what divides us.

Thank you for coming into this discussion.

my mum is certainly my hero. One of 11, abandoned by father and placed in an orphanage. Very thankful to the nuns and others who took care of her. Had to battle stigma but managed to have 5 kids whom she spent her life serving and setting up a future for. She turned out to be a model wife/mother who sacrificed much of herself for her family. As a result of her perseverance she has been able to enjoy her latter days having never owned a home or wealth. She would be despised by modern day feminist however I would not of wished for a better mum.

Hi runner,

I think most women would applaud your mum -
especially feminists for what she did on
her own. Abandoned by her father, life in an
orphanage. I can only image the stigma she copped.
Yet she raised 5 kids with much love and care and
your love for her says it all.

Thank you for sharing.

I love discussions that are generous, sincere,
full of honest sentiment.

Long may they continue.

Dear Foxy,

Yes, our forebears, especially our maternal forebears, have endured a hell of a lot. It's amazing how they - and us - have come through, thanks to their sacrifices.

The accursed Ancestry.com has thrown up at least three female convicts in my family, as well as at least three more who died in childbirth, sometimes still in their twenties. As well, many migrated as paid passengers, probably from WorkHouses or Destitute Asylums.

My grandmother, born in 1902, was raised in the Hull Workhouse, Sculcoates, and given bookkeeping skills by the Barnardos, before working in the kitchens for Lord Samuel, founder of shell and former London Lord Mayor. She married an ex-Camel-Corps soldier who said he had an oatmeal mine out in Australia and needed a bookkeeper. So out they came, to a dirt farm west of Dubbo. Not a farmer, he astutely gave that all away early in 1929 and came back into Sydney. My gran ran away from him with a Hungarian maths teacher.

So my mum didn't go to school until the family came into Glebe, and then only for five or six years. She ran away from home at fourteen in the mid-thirties - how she made a living I don't want to know. She married a drinker, a fireman on the munitions train during the War; she re-married and raised a total of six kids, all of whom went to university, while she did factory work until she retired. Then SHE went to uni, at Newcastle. Loved it.

Yes, she certainly had a hard and interesting life, looking after kids for around fifty years. She died in 2015. I learnt so much from her, and miss her terribly.

Joe

Hi again Foxy,

I'll broaden the discussion and tell you about my Uncle Frank, certainly the jolliest of the clan. Uncle Frank served in New Guinea during WWII. Although he had done the basic training, his weapons were not guns and grenades, rather clippers and scissors, he was a army barber. Legend has it he never left Port Moresby. Uncle reckoned his greatest act of valour for which he never got a VC, was he once cut General Macarthur hair, the fact Macarthur was never in New Guinea, and wasn't in the same army didn't seem to diminish uncles ability to make such a claim. He and his bunch, would drop by the Grandparents property every so often for Sunday lunch, and an afternoon of hair cutting, mostly us kids as the men mostly avoid his haircuts, short back and sides, with his hand clippers and scissors, and the pain that went with it. He was always saying as he cut half your head off; "They also served, those who stood and cut!" He was a shocker of a barber. Uncle Herb would say; "Frank, if they had let you loose at the Japanese to cut their hair, the war would have been over sooner, the Japs would have surrendered because of your torture. And when you cut General Macarthur's hair, how come he didn't have you court marshalled and shot!" But Uncle Frank was a very jolly fella, and the barbs were water off a ducks back to him.

p/s Us kids wouldn't dare question uncle about his hair cutting ability, as he might give you a second scalping if you weren't careful.

Dear Joe,

We've come through thanks to the sacrifices of our
mothers. I've had an easy life compared to hers.

What an incredible Australian story you've got to
tell. You could write a book. I'd read yours rather
than Malcolm Turnbull's (reading his is beginning
to drag quite a bit).

Your mum had a hard life but she shaped you into the
person you are today. Your kids must count their
blessings.

Dear Paul,

Thanks for the story of your Uncle Frank - he sounds
like quite a character. Families are like fudge -
mostly sweet with a few nuts.

I remember the tale our next door neighbour told
of an elderly family member who was getting hard of
hearing. He went to an ear specialist who had him fitted
out for a hearing aid. The old man came back to the
specialist six weeks later - and the doctor asked -

"Well your family must be so happy now that you can hear?"

The old man said - "No they don't know I can now hear.
I just sit around listening to them talk. I've changed
my will three times so far."

.

Dear Foxy,

.

My mother considered that Mothers’ Day was a purely commercial operation. She only accepted to celebrate Mothering Sunday (which fell on Sunday, 22 March this year). In 2021 it will be on Sunday 14 March.

My brother and I used to pick wildflowers on the way home from our local bush-brotherhood church on Mothering Sunday and offer them to her as our gift.

She was a loving and caring mother who gave us confidence in life.

That was a precious gift that has lasted all our lives.

.

Dear Banjo Paterson,

Loving, caring, precious gifts indeed.
Wildflowers - would have made Mothering
Day so special.

Louisa May Alcott wrote:

"I can never wish you a greater happiness than this."

Dear Banjo,

Talking about wildflowers...

I remember my first trip to Tassie where I saw fields
of wildflowers in bloom. A beautiful sight. I loved
the apple isle. Even the cows seemed content.

"To see a World in a
Grain of sand, and
a Heaven in a
Wild Flower.
Hold infinity in
the palm of your hand.
And Eternity
in an hour."

William Blake.

Of all the special joys in life
The big ones and the small
A mother's love
and tenderness
Is the greatest
of them all.

My mum taught me everything
except how to live
without her.

I miss her so much.

.

Dear Foxy,

.

You wrote :

"My mum taught me everything except how to live without her."

.

No, Foxy, as you grow-up, that's about the only thing you have to do yourself.

Mothers don't push their little-ones out of the warm, cosy nest into the unknown. The little-ones eagerly spread their wings themselves, full of hope, curiosity and confidence.

She gives them a sense of security that allows them to interiorise her love and affection for the rest of their lives.

We never leave our mothers and they never leave us. They live on inside us forever.

.

Dear Banjo,

I know you're right of course.

However, we were so, so close.

She hasn't been gone long and I
miss the daily contacts.

Thank You for your words of comfort.

Take care.
Stay safe.

Strangely It was dad I missed most when mum went.

I guess I was too busy selling mum up, organising a granny flat & her to my property in Wide Bay when dad died, to miss him all that much at the time. Mum was devastated, & needed a lot of minding & support.

It is now, 9 years later that I am missing her most.

Dear Hassie,

Strange the way life affects us.

Dad worked so hard. He had a tough life and
was determined to give his kids an easier
one through education and the opportunities
that offered. He did double shifts at the
rubber factory to pay for things. He did not
believe in buying things on credit. If he
couldn't afford to pay for it - he didn't buy it.

I too miss him more now - and appreciate more what
he did for us all. At that time I wasn't aware
how hard life must have been for him - and what it cost
him to give us the life we had. I only wish he'd have
lived to see his grand-children

My husband remembers what he and his mother went through
during World War II. How they spent nights
sleeping in railway stations, air-raid shelters, doorways
of houses while bombs were falling and cities were
burning. His mother was always there for him.

His parents worked hard to ensure his education. Later on in
life she decided to study geriatric nursing. She wanted to
work looking after the elderly. A job she did for
many years. Before she retired, she was
made a Governor of a State-run institution in recognition
of her distinguished service. She didn't make a big deal
of that honour - but she asked her son to have the
Certificate framed - which he's proudly to this day.

My mother-in-law was a very caring person. And we grew
even closer with the onset of Alzheimers. What I found
remarkable - was she recognised me right up to the end.
And always looked forward to my visits. She was a lovely
grand-mother to our children.

We shall be lighting quite a few candles for our mothers
this Mother's Day and saying a few prayers.

May you all remember your in your own way also.

Just a thought for everyone...

Wouldn't it be nice to start a tradition for all
those mothers who are no longer with us -
on Mother's Day - to light a few candles and say
a few prayers?

If we all did it - it just may snowball into something
very special?

Hi Foxy, my wife does that at times for her Mum, who passed away in 1969 aged 42.

Dear Paul,

I'm so glad to hear that.

My brother does that for my mum on the anniversary
of her death every year. The family gets together at
his daughter's property north of Port Macquarie.
It's got a stream running through it - and they float
flowers on the water and light candles for mum.
And of course say a few prayers as well.

We do the best we can with what we've got here in Melbourne.

I firmly believe in these sort of rituals to bring us all
together - and not forget those with whom we have shared
so much. To maintain that close connection of family.

It would be great if others did the same for their
loved ones.

I'd like to hear more of what others do or have
done.

Mum had her 99Th in a great nursing home in Beaudesert. She was bed ridden by then, so it was in her room.

The grand kids & the great grand kids were all there, for the evening. She knew the grand kids, but had rarely seen the great grand kids. About half way through the night she asked me who the little kids were.

When told they were her grand kids she played a guessing game tying them to their mothers. She did a pretty good job of it too.

A couple of weeks later she went in her sleep.

Dear Hassie,

The important thing is - that she went peacefully
and she knew that she was loved.

God Bless.

Take care.
Stay safe.

.

When I was a little boy, I guess about 10 years old, I wondered, as I didn’t have a father, if I should consider God was my father. But as time went by, I realised he was just as absent and nonexistent as my real father, so I dropped the idea and decided to go it alone.

I told my mother I no longer wanted to do ballet dancing (she taught ballet and desperately wanted a girl but had two boys) and took up boxing and rugby instead.

That was a long time ago now and I never regretted that decision.

.

Dear Banjo,

It sounds like you knew your own mind at a very
early age and followed your heart. It shows strength
of character.

I came into my own late in life - and am still learning.
Old habits die hard. I was raised to
"not rock the boat." so to speak and to fit in. I did
as I was told. I did what was expected of me. But
sometimes my stubborn streak would come through.

As a little girl, I was shy. Anyway, I've learned slowly
to speak my own mind. But it's still a learning process
for me. I often still think - "Gee, I shouldn't have said
that, or maybe I should have said it differently."
At times I need to work on my presentation. It's a work in
progress.

Every relationship is a gift. I've been given some great
gifts by each of the people I have encountered on my
journey through life - including here on OLO. They have
helped shape me into the person I have become and still
hope to be.

Thank You for taking the time to continue to contribute
to this thread. It is very much appreciated.

I just want to wish all of your wives, and mothers,
a very Happy Mother's Day tomorrow.

"For all the nappies
that you changed
For all the play dates
you arranged

For all the trips
back forth to school
For cleaning all the snot up
and the drool

Why is there only
one Mother's Day?
You should have at least gotten
the ENTIRE month of May!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MUM!

Hi Banjo,

interesting take on considering God in the absence of a parent.

Despite going to sunday school most sundays from age of 7 to 11-12, i stopped believing in God around age of 8-9 by taunting God to prove his existence.

Without parents, I was always on my own and had to make my own judgment given the fear i was experiencing from religious exposure. This included thinking god or the devil was chasing me home from football training or was in my room when i went to bed.

From an early age, once i stop believing, I argued with sunday school teachers about the existence of God.

I actually think the sunday school teachers actually enjoyed the banter trying to convince me about the existence of God.

But, as i matured, i realised that God is indeed important to a lot of people, and that freedom of religion is a fundamental human right with its message a force for good (mostly).

I just never needed it

Dear Chris,

Religion has always been a big part of my family life
growing up. Not so much as I grew older. I hated
some of the sermons being preached from the pulpit,
and I drifted away. However, when I was diagnosed with
cancer more than a decade ago - I again turned back to God.

I think religion is a personal matter - and I'm not out to
preach or convert anyone.

This morning my husband made me breakfast for Mother's Day.
I lit two candles in memory of my mum and my mother-in-law
and said a few prayers.

Take care.
Stay safe.

What motherhood is, is not employment.

http://www.facebook.com/martynlloydiles/videos/619579262175340/

Wasn't that a wonderful opportunity for Foxy to talk about herself. Why do you mugs think that she asks these questions?

Dear Josephus,

Thank You for the link.

You might like to Google the sermons of
Martyn Lloyd Jones. There's 1,600 on the web.

God Bless.

Take care.
Stay safe.

Hi ttbn,

I got so excited when I saw your name on a post
on this thread. I was sure that you'd come on
here to share something about your mum with us - as
we've all been doing.

But that wasn't why you came here.

Ah well, I'll dust myself down, and continue to keep
on posting despite your continuing attempts to demean me.

Perhaps one day you may be able to come out of the
shadows.

For your own sake - may that day be sooner than later.
It's not good for you to carry all that resentment
inside.

I think this thread is a good one, one of the few I have observed where left and right leaning readers have contributed their thoughts about the importance of mothers (parents).

Foxy,

Your little mate, Chris Lewis, accused me of starting threads just to shoot down anyone who disagreed with me. I suppose I'm saying something similar about you, just that in your case, it's about attention seeking and talking about what you feel about something; I mean, nobody is going to just pop up and ask you what you remember about your mother, are they? So, you manufacture the occasion.

I note that only 7 posters took you up. Perhaps I am not the only one who believes that what they think of or remember about their mothers, or any other members of their families, is none of your business

Dear Chris,

I think we all found something we could share.
I am glad that I started this thread and that it
brought so many people together.

Well done everyone. We need more discussions that
unite us rather than divide us.

ttbn is the ultimate keyboard warrior. He even enjoys undermining a thread where he apparently has no interest but feels obliged to contribute in a negative way.

I would ignore him foxy.

For those of you young enough to still have a mother, Brad Hazzard had given instructions not to kiss her. If you don't know who Brad Hazzard is, he is the NSW health minister responsible the Ruby Princess fiasco that helped the spread of the China virus. So, perhaps you will ignore the advice of such a 'genius'.

.

Dear ttbn,

.

You wrote :

« … Brad Hazzard is … the NSW health minister responsible the Ruby Princess fiasco that helped the spread of the China virus. »
.

You’re jumping the gun on that one, ttbn. NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has set up a special commission to carry out a thorough criminal investigation of the fiasco and find out who was responsible for it.

The federal government made a key change to the information it seeks from cruise ships in light of the escalating scandal of the Ruby Princess.

The change is an apparent admission that insufficient detail was given on the health of passengers on board the ship, though who was responsible for the failure — the company or health authorities — is yet to be determined.

When the Ruby Princess docked on March 19 the ship was asked to answer “yes” or “no” to the question of whether any passengers or crew had:

Persistent coughing and difficulty breathing with no apparent cause and no history or similar symptoms (but not persistent coughing and difficulty breathing caused by asthma, heart disease, obesity, chronic bronchitis or emphysema).

The question was revised on March 25, to ask whether any passengers or crew had:

New coughing illness which developed in the past two weeks (but not caused by an existing chronic disease e.g. asthma, heart disease, obesity, chronic bronchitis or emphysema). Yes or No.

The Federal Department of Health explained the question was revised to “align” it with screening processes used for ill travellers on arrival, and to “address feedback from stakeholders” that the question as it was previously worded was not clear regarding reporting of COVID-19 symptoms.

A department spokesman explained : “The decision to change the wording of the question was supported by the chief human biosecurity officers in each state and territory,” (the chief human biosecurity officer at the federal level is the chief medical officer Brendan Murphy.)

Medical practitioners see the change as being too little, too late.

We shall just have to wait and see the results of the criminal investigation.

.

G'day Foxy,

My wife, after hearing so many are out of work, wants to set up a 'pataka' (free food stall) outside our whare (house). Seems back in the day a Partaka outside ones whare when there was excess kai (food) was common. After the whanau (extended family) has been supplied with whatever you had, then it was seen as normal to leave extra in a small covered house made from bush outside near the road. Passerby's would simply help themselves. She said people never took to much, just what they could use. I told her we are more sophisticated in our society today, we have the local council and the cops to stop you from doing such things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6uCSUoGvmY