Something Only a Mom Would Do

As a mom you know there are certain things that only YOU would do. Saving a lock of hair from a first hair cut, or that first baby tooth that fell out, a sample of handwriting or handprints to cherish when your babies are grown. But would you save them on your wall?

My mom did. A large portion of this year was spent cleaning out my mom's house to turn over to be sold. While cleaning out the laundry room, imagine my giggle when I found this:

Yes that is my forth grade handwriting, on the wall, of the laundry room. I so remember writing that, but have no idea WHY I wrote on the wall. My mom's initials were MEP and mine were actually EAP but since everyone calls me "Betsy" I choose to initial it "BEP" to be like her. 

On the other side of the laundry room, were two handprints. I have to admit those were mine as well. I was in 4th or 5th grade and was asked to start a load of laundry and my hands were wet and wanted to see my wet prints on the wall, thinking it would just evaporate and not realizing there was just enough dirt on my hands to leave a muddy print. These too were still on the laundry room wall. The whole house has been painted several times, and as you can tell the walls got pretty grimy but mom choose to keep things "as is" vs. covering over her sweet little vandal. *grin*

The Gift of Art!

As I was growing up mom was always drawing, always creating. This bode well for my sister and I who followed in her footsteps, and loved to get messy with a craft project or two, not to mention her students at school that benefitted from awesome bulletin boards in their classroom, and fabulous art projects during class!

When Mom retired she took up painting again, she had learned to paint with her grandmother whom everyone called "Nana." She told us how Nana would have her paint and repaint pictures over and over practicing brush strokes and techniques. She mostly worked in acrylics but dabbled some in oils. 

Cleaning out mom's easel and paints was the one of the most difficult parts about closing up mom's estate.  (Second only to her music collection.) Mom loved creating, painting, that form of creative expression of taking an idea in your mind's eye and transferring it to a visible media. How do you just put them away to be silenced forever? 

Her easel sat for quite some time, I had a difficult time touching it. Mom never expected to be in the hospital more than a few days, her painting was there waiting for her to finish. Just like my sister and I kept feeling like we were waiting for her to come home. But she never came home, and so there her easel sat on the sun porch. Patiently waiting for someone to come use it. There her painting sat waiting for mom to finish it...but she never will. 

I saved some of her paints and brushes for my personal use, but I never mastered painting let alone drawing with any major skill.  I  didn't have the space for the easel and knew mom would want them to be used. So with my sisters blessing, I was able to share mom's easel and some supplies with my BFF's husband. Sherri and I have known each other since birth and she is part of the family, her husband Jason, fit right in with the rest of us and connected with mom because of his love of art and ability to paint. Use them well Jason!