Hobby Hoarse

My mother did everything around the house .. cleaned, did the laundry, hung the laundry out, brought it in and ironed it, cooked the meals, did the dishes, dried them, put them away, changed the bed clothing .. I think the old man might have done some grocery shopping ... other than that I can't remember him doing anything to help out .. I remember him hand grinding some hamburger ...so my mother was like a benevolent dictator ...

If you have not figured it out there were no hugs in our household .. no 'I love yous' ... no unsolicited praise .. there was however constant attention to things that weren't right ... if I did something 90% right .. my mother would focus on the remaining 10% .. if I did it 99% right .. she would focus on the 1% .. and if 99.9% .. then the 0.1% ... I think her mother was similar .. but I am sure they both came hard wired that way ... 

She loved her garden .. dahlias and begonias being huge .. both plants bein tubers requiring they be brought inside to over winter .. it was a lot of work because you have to label the tubers each year and pack them in newspaper .. .we had the best flower garden on the street ... my mother loved to 'tan' .. lay out in the sun and turn dark brown ... she sewed .. she knitted .. she crocheted ... she darned .. she upholstered .... and she always had the latest fashions all by her own hand ... 

She was and is a collector .. she introduced me to stamp collecting ... and I remember a little booklet of prominent Canadians that you pasted images in ... maybe from the Star Weekly ... and Shiriff hockey medallions that fit into something .. and the red rose Audubon bird collection that were pasted into a small booklet. I was interested in Canadian stamps and would occasionally buy older ones to add to the collection. She loved to do crossword puzzles and I acquired a knack for doing them.

I remember the old man scrambling over the breakwater rock leading out to Partridge Island .. at low tide .. picking dulce .. an edible form of seaweed .. he would lay it out on the limestone in the driveway and dry it in the sun .. and then put it in a burlap bag and hang it from the ceiling close to the furnace .. I acquired a taste for it and still enjoy the odd chew.

Of all the things that they both enjoyed .. on their own .. none of the skill was transferred to me ..except for an interest in things that I kind of picked up on my own ... it was like this was their interest and they guarded it jealously ... I always felt if my mother showed as must interest in my emotional growth as her hobbies and the things she loved I might have been better off ... but I don't think so .. when you focus on the part that isn't right 100% of the time ... I would never had made the grade ... and I would have withered under the criticism ...

Phil (31 December 2020 - San Patricio de Melaque - 7:56 PM)

Krome Koan - 'You reap what you sew'