A Mother's Hands - Corliss Garden Club

"A Mother's Hands"

A Mother's Day tribute to my mom and moms, everywhere.

By Deb Lambert

It's all there, in a mother's hands... Those caring, nurturing, industrious hands, that bring solace and evoke memories.

The hands that toiled in the garden, soothed a fevered brow and mended scraped knees. The tapered fingers that played piano and violin, also hooked and braided rugs for the parlor. They stenciled serving trays, painted walls and designed garden elements, which my father completed. They sewed entire wardrobes, over the years, for a growing schoolgirl.

The hands that scrubbed a kitchen floor belong to a talented cook, who kept a family delightfully fed. They plied an iron and crocheted a doily with equal alacrity. They grew vegetables, planted bulbs and inspired the next generation of gardeners. These hands would knit, tat and needlepoint a myriad useful and decorative items, throughout the years. They polished, scrubbed, dusted and swept, as she maintained a well-ordered household.

These are the hands, browned by the sun, at the commencement of yet another season in the garden, that evoke so many memories. They held the flash cards, as I mastered multiplication one long, hot summer and held the heavy volumes of Charles Dickens she read aloud, all through my youth. They rifled through the bird book, as we identified our many bird feeder patrons.

And while every day should be Mother's Day, there's something special about a tender spring morning, that puts us in a reflective mood and moves us to pay homage to our mothers and extend our appreciation.

Look at your mother's hands on this Mother's Day, or just visualize them, and welcome the flood of memories that may overwhelm you...

It's all there, in a mother's hands.

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