Sunday, May 8, 2011

Adventures with Mom

When I was a baby, my mom used to take me everywhere with her. She would just plop me in my carseat and off we would go on an adventure. To a friend's house. To the grocery store. To the post office. To the pool. To the mall.


As I got older, she continued to take me along with her. While she still took me on everyday trips with her, she also took me on new adventures. As a toddler she took me places like the zoo and the circus. She would take me to the Harrisburg train station where we would hop on a train to Elizabethtown with a loaf of bread in tow. Once we got to Elizabethtown, we would walk across the street to the Masonic Homes where we would go to a little pond there and feed the ducks and fish. I'm not sure what I enjoyed more: feeding the animals or eating the bread myself! And I'm sure my mom will never forget the time I got bit by a goose!


The older I got, the bigger the adventures got. We traveled all over the country. New York City was a popular destination. My fearless mother would drive right into the city without hesitation. We would see a show and have dinner at a really fun restaurant like Hard Rock Cafe or Mars 2112, and we would usually make a stop in FAO Schwarz where I would gaze in amazement at all the toys, animals, legos and candy. And our stop in the toy store was not complete without a run on the floor piano from the movie Big. On an early trip to the City, when I was maybe five, we were in a theatre waiting for the show to start when my mom leaned over to me and very tactfully whispered, "Do you see that lady in front of us? That is Katharine Hepburn. She is a famous actress." As any 5-year-old would do, I stood up, pointed and said in a loud 5-year-old voice, "Who, her Mommy?" Needless to say, Ms. Hepburn was wonderful about it and even took the time to talk to us for a few minutes. On another trip when I was a bit older we happened to be eating at Planet Hollywood when Jeff Daniels made an appearance to donate the dog suit he wore in Dumb and Dumber.

But the adventures didn't stop there. In my middle school and high school years, my mom opened my eyes to the world. We went to the Caribbean together twice. We went on a trip with her mom (my grandma) to Greece and Turkey, and another year the three of us took a trip to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. I have so many memories of these trips and the time spent with my mom. Right now, if she's reading this, she is probably worried that I am going to go into the story about the candy bar in the Caribbean or the song she sang in Spain. But I'll save those for another time.


I am very fortunate to have a mother who had not only the resources to go on these adventures, but also the desire to include me in them. It is because of my mom and these adventures that I am the woman I am today. I have a huge passion for musical theatre and a love of travel that I never would have had without the experiences she shared with me.

Not only did my mom create these memories for me, but she also taught me how to be a good mother. She showed me unconditional love. She showed me generosity. She showed me strength. She showed me a good sense of humor. And now she is showing me how to be a good grandmother!

Now that I am a mother myself, I have a new appreciation for my own mom. I only hope that I can be half as good a mother to my children as she has been to me. I hope that some day Alec and Chase will look back and remember our trips to the grocery store and mall, the outings to Boiling Springs Lake to feed the ducks, the shows we see, and all the other adventures we have in the future.

Happy Mother's Day, Ma!!! XXOO