Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Yo mamma

The May issue of Real Simple hit my mailbox yesterday (I know, I know, not exactly The Nation or The New York Times) and last night I curled up and read a neat series of short essays by women writing about things they learned from their mothers. My favorite: One writer listed the top five things that her mother felt were essential to a well appointed home. They were: fresh flowers, a good-size dining room table, white wine and a cat. I forget the thing in the middle, but it was spot-on and just as genteel. You could almost imagine this woman answering the door: She'd straighten her hair, check her earrings and smile sweetly.

What might have been my mother's "essentials"? Well, our home always had four or more kinds of store-bought cookies, three kinds of ice cream, a really big bottle of Gallo Rhine, lots of scratch paper and back issues of the National Catholic Reporter. In earlier years, you could add a carton of Pall Malls and gobs of gloxinias (which nobody else I knew grew from seed). And a 20-pound cat who was rather vicious. When my mom answered the door, she had to check first that Penelope hadn't scared the visitor half to death.

2 comments:

Emilie said...

I read that this week, too, and thought that sounded like a very calming mom! I'd have to think about what my mom's "essentials" would be. I can ask her, cuz she's staying with me this week!

Madwoman of Preserve Path said...

How lucky for you, Emilie! Enjoy your visit (and the extra pair of hands). When you have a new baby, there's no end to the number of moms you need!