Mom Interview: Grandma Holgate
In timeliness with Mother's Day, I found an old interview I did with my Grandma Holgate. A Mom Interview. I'm making it a thing. At least for me. I sent it to my mom, and my grandpa on Sunday, but here is the audio for anyone else who cares to listen. I have been blessed by some pretty amazing women in my life. Women I want to glean any goodness I can out of because they raised some pretty great kids. A few years back I had the idea that I wanted to create a "mom file" if you will, because being a mom is the most wonderful job ever but it is also the HARDEST job ever and sometimes you just need some inspiration. So I made a list, and set out to ask the women in my life some questions that could help me on my own mothering journey.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/
I found this treasure last week and was so grateful that I asked these things back then and have them saved. I asked Grandma, probably 3 or 4 years ago, about what it means to her to be a mom, about some of her favorite moments, and for any counsel she could pass on to us. I loved listening to it and hearing her voice, and feeling how much she valued and added importance and great validity to the title of MOTHER. Especially after four months of her passing, this felt like a tender mercy to know I could feel her love so tangibly as I listened.
Here are some of my favorite highlights:
"I love being a mother. That’s probably the favorite thing in my whole life. That was the only thing I wanted to do. I remember when I graduated from college and was going to teach school, I just couldn’t wait to be a mother! That’s what I used to think about all the time. So, after, I mean- it took me a long time to get to that point, not that I didn’t always want to… when I started teaching school I was ready to get married and I wanted to be a mother. So that was really prominent in my mind."
"Patience is so important, communication is so important. Don’t let anything get in the way. There are times when you’re going to get a little angry at your kids, but you’ve got to fix it. Right away. For them, for you. It amazes me the good parents that I know that have such trouble with their kids and the reason I think they do is because they don’t fix it when little things happen. I think you always leave with them that they’re loved. You always tell them you love them no matter what they do. And then you can’t let things smolder and grow. And the other thing is that you have to have eyes in the back of your head, you have to know what’s really going on with your kids. You try to analyze. You know I think every mother has a sixth sense about when there’s a problem with their kids. Knowing they need to talk. Grandpa was such a good counselor, he was. It was amazing the way he’d just take the kids, put his arm around them, and off they’d go. He was always really good to talk to them. Of course I think the Spirit helps you. If you live close enough to the Spirit, it lets you know when something’s going wrong with your kids. "
I know that the Lord wants us to value motherhood like my grandma did. It is vital for children to be born in loving homes where they can be taught what really matters. That's the secret that Grandma always had figured out.
Just click on the link, then download, and you should be able to hear the mp3.
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