Nojomo 21 in Nojomo 2014

Things I did with my mum…

Well, my mum was the nurturing one, we didn’t play games together but I have memories.

• teaching me to iron hankies, it was just her and me so it must have been before I started school and while li’l sis was asleep, I would sit on her lap and hold the iron, flattening out the fabric, I loved watching the change from the wrinkled fabric to the smooth, slightly steaming, glistening white cotton weave. I still iron a mean hankie!

• singing. My mum often sang, she would hum some classical piano music, practice her choral music or a small quantity of show music. I loved hearing her sing “I’m gonna wash that man right outta my hair,” from South Pacific.

• she once looked at me quizzically and asked “what is it like to be you?, I often wonder how your mind works.” I’ve often puzzled about that. I think it had something to do with my bright, cheery, talkative confidence. My mum suffered from depression on and off, she hasrn’t had a great childhood and so, I think, my carefree attitude was far away from how she felt.

• kitchen hugs. There were always kitchen hugs on offer, often there would be several of us involved. The hug may start with two people, mum and myself for example. Someone else would walk in, for instance one of my sisters. She would join in too etc. I can still, just, feel her shirt and the softeness of her skin underneath, I can smell her hair. Only just, but it’s there.

• bedtime. Mum always did bedtime and she read a book, curled up on my bed. She always remembered to show me the pictures and we read a chapter or part of a chapter every night. I don’t remember stories ending, whether it was my decision or hers but I have that safe memory. She always took time to read it and then we would sing a prayer together.

• driving home from Quaker meetings. There were various different routes and she hated routine, we’d get to the junction and she’d ask ‘Which way should we go?’ We all called out our ideas and we’d head off. One route was named The Smelly Way because of a factory that we drove past. It didn’t put us off

• knitting. My mum was a champion knitter, she always had some jumper our another on the go, between jumpers she would use scraps of wool to knit squares which she would sew together to make blankets for charity. Of course I always wanted to have a go so she would cast ten stitches on for me then constantly dirt out my problems without any frustration! I once ended up with fifty stitches by the end of my knitting and my numerous scarves ended up only a few inches long because I became bored!

• eggs. She insisted that we had eggs most days, hers were the best whether scrambled, poached, fried, boiled or French toasted :-) boiled were mum’s favourites and she ate them with a pile of salt. That went on the side of the plays, each spoonful of egg had a coating of salt on the bottom!

Oh, you know that I could go on and will probably think ‘oh, I should have mentioned blah blah!’ Later…

Last updated November 21, 2014