Gratitude - Hospitality...

Mom was always a gracious hostess.  Even now, if you show up at her apartment her first impulse is to offer a cup of coffee. She always has some cookies or candies to put out on a plate, and if she doesn't have those, then she'll dig up some crackers and cheese, or chips, or something. In the last week or so that has become too much, and she told me that she finds it hard to suppress the impulse.

Growing up we always had company stopping by. People just seemed to show up at the door, often without calling. Or my folks would host people for dinner. At the time I didn't understand how much work that made for Mom. I'm sure Dad don't help much. (Later in life he did help more, but it was mostly "helping", not being in charge.) But ours was a home where people just seemed to show up and flow through. I don't think it is just a different time now, Mom somehow created a space where people knew they were welcome.

Mom has continued that pattern right up to now. There are so many people calling as word of her illness has gotten out.

One of the remarkable things is how she has connected to so many women across different ages. Last spring a senior at the college got assigned to interview her for a class project, and she kept coming back to visit Mom long after she had completed her assignment. She got something from getting to know this wise old woman.

And that is the story of her life. When I was a kid, it was Beth and Gracie. In the last couple of years J has been painting with her, and seems so appreciative. In between ... I don't know how many.

And then there is the discussion group she created at Gcroft to bring women together who have really divergent viewpoints to listen to each other and hear how other people think. She's found that challenging, But it sounds like she's kept an open mind even while she has expressed her own ideas.

Reflecting on all this now, it seems like Mom was somehow able to pull off the roles of both Mary and Martha in the story of Luke. She did the preparations, but also joined in the conversation too. I wonder what she'd say to that idea!