January 11. The Ultimate Blog Challenge
January is starting to feel long and weary already. I’m not complaining, just stating the facts. It’s the end of the day. I’m feeling irritable and disgruntle. I think I will just keep it to myself. I slept amazingly well last night despite the 2 cups of coffee I had. I’m thinking a cup would pick me up now but I’ll just stick with a herbal tea, a deep breath and a good memory. It is getting into evening.
I was itching to go skiing again today. There’s always this challenge of improving my time and skill. I held myself in check. I don’t want to get obsessive about it. I already had an hour of workout at the gym this morning. I had a good ski yesterday. I can see why I could get hook on a good feeling until it isn’t. I still had groceries to deliver to my mother and I should stay for a little visit. So I packed her stuff and took a short walk over and back.
I always enjoy visiting and having a cuppa with my mother. She is good company, a good conversationalist and a good storyteller. She’s been talking and telling me stories forever. I’m her oldest child. I treasure hearing the history of our family and villages of her and mine birth. I was 6 years old when we left China for Hong Kong. I saw my first electric lightbulb enroute in a hotel in Canton, now call Guangzhou. Isn’t that amazing, that I remember the time before electricity?
I’ve long talked and often about writing a book on our family’s history. All I’ve managed is little bits here and there. Little bits are better than nothing. Here’s a little tidbit from coffee with my mother from 2011.
COFFEE WITH MY MOTHER – Sept. 21, 2011
I had coffee with my mother at Tim Horton’s after her eye appointment with her opthalmologist. It has been awhile since it was just the two of us. I always enjoy such times with her for she is a wonderful storyteller. Much of our family history and life wisdom have been passed onto me in this way…over coffee and in easy conversation. What wonderful gifts she has given me. I shall sorely miss her when she is gone. I do not know how I will deal with it at the time. So I am appreciating her in the fullest in the present moment. I am listening to her stories, taking all her soups for my health, accepting the vegetables from her garden…….I am taking time for her.
onethousandandtwo 
These moments with your mother are so precious. I urge you to videotape or make an audio of some of these conversations. Recently I found an audiotape of an interview that my daughter did as a school assignment with both my mother and me. It was nice to hear my mother again and also hear my “normal” voice before I had a stroke.
Thank you, Cheryl for your idea. I think it might be more difficult now as my mother is very hard of hearing. And she might be too self conscious for me to do it. But I have many memory clips in my head.