As my tribute to Mother’s Day I would like to share a story with you that I posted on my dear friend’s blog last year after my husband and I travelled to Tanzania. https://friendfortheride.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/19626/
I lovingly salute and offer best wishes to my dear 84 year old mother, all mothers young and old, all motherly relationships, and to all who are caretakers and life givers.
The world is a better place when we come from the spirit of love. Happy Mother’s Day!
With great anticipation, Martin and I embarked on our long journey to Tanzania. Martin would fulfill a dream, to climb Kilimanjaro.
The trek to the roof of Africa would take six days. I chose to remain in Moshi and find my own adventures. Our B& B hostess, Sandra, organized a three day safari for me and my new Polish friends, Ela and Wojciech.
Our guide for this trip, whose name is Innocent, is a 32 year old Tanzanian, one of six children whose mother left them at an early age, a new father of a six week old son, a smart young man, and an exuberant guide.
His eyes gleamed and his bright white smile radiated innocence. The words from his mouth were wise and wonderful.
The animal and bird sightings, the landscape, the Masai tribe, the drive, the whole adventure, left me breathless. It was one of the most amazing adventures of my life.
My conversations with Innocent, however, left an imprint on my heart.
Our days were full, but hot and exhausting. The dust and sweat stuck to my skin along with the necessary bug repellent and sunscreen.
We were camping, and to my utter dismay, I realized I had no bath towel.
Innocent gave me his one and only towel.
I resisted.
He very calmly explained to me that if his long lost mother ever needed help, he hoped someone would assist her. And so, his generosity to me.
Innocent went on to explain that trees and plants never meet, but people do. This is a blessing, so we need to be kind to each other.
This articulate young man believes we are here to improve on each generation.
His father imparted to him all of his knowledge, as this was the key to a good life.
Now that Innocent was a father himself, he would give all of his knowledge to his son, and be a better parent. He said he suffers from “no mother love.”
While lying in my tent at night listening to all the African noises, I pondered.
Have I shared all of my knowledge with my children?
Have I honestly learned from the mistakes of my parents?
Did I provide abundant mother love?
I will never forget the lions, zebras, elephants, giraffes, warthogs, or the baby baboons.
And, I will never forget Innocent’s smile.
So wonderful to meet you and the family. Having had similar experiences in Tanzania I loved your blog. When we are face to face I will tell you why we had to get home and could not stay for the ordination. It made me very sad, but we were home now and grateful that we could meet the family. My heart, spirit and prayers were with you all Monday night. Blessings to you and Martin.
Thank you, Tally. It was so nice to see you, even if briefly. I am excited to have you as a new friend!
As mothers we are so often in the place of giving. What an interesting and thought-provoking experience you had–to be in the place of need and then to be given to. And yes, sometimes that’s uncomfortable for us. Thanks for sharing this cross-cultural story from your life!
Thanks, Lynne. The most amazing piece was to receive such wisdom from such a young man. Happy Mother’s Day to you!
Beautifully expressed, as always. I love the above exchange between you and your mom. so beautiful to see the legacy passed down from mother to daughter, mother to daughter. I know that your mother’s heart wants to protect and be sure that it was enough. Rest assured that your life exudes a loving wisdom which is a rare jewel, indeed!
So beautifully said, Jan! Thank you! And you have a grandmother still with you and nearby. Very special. And….the best news…you have a grandaughter on the way! ❤️
a lovely post Judy. Thank you for sharing. I am always touched by your words.
Thank you, Barbara.
To my beautiful, wise and loving daughter, your mother of 84 years honors you and thanks you for this blog/website and all the wisdom and love it expresses. Like you, I wonder if I have imparted all the knowledge I have to my children; if I learned from the mistakes of my parents, if in fact there were any. If there were I do not remember, I only remember their love and concern for me; they’re always being at my side whatever I did with my life. Happy Mother’s day!
Ditto!! Xoxoxoxox
And “mistakes” might be the wrong term…perhaps better wording is that we all do the best we can!
Loved the post! I think it’s so wonderful how Innocent did kind gestures in homage to his mother. Cathy, my neighbor, is helping neighbors who are both dealing with dementia. She said once,”My parents were wonderful people and they are now both gone. So I am helping our neighbors in their honor.”
Wow. That is amazing as well. We need to embrace that attitude. Thank you for sharing!
What a great story! I missed your post about the trip, that sounds amazing too. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Lisa! It was a trip of a lifetime.