This month, we are paying tribute to our moms. In many ways, in-home care is about celebrating our elders and what they’ve done in life and continue to do for us, for others and for their communities. More often than not, our mothers play a significant role in how we view the world. We thought that sharing how they’ve helped members of the Midnight Sun Home Care community would be a fun way to honor them.
Today, Midnight Sun Home Care Caregiver, Caren, reflects on life with her mother, Hazel.
There is so much in how we navigate life, really, and my mother has shown me how to be gracious through all of it. At 78, she still lives with my dad, in their home here in Alaska.
Originally from South Carolina, my mother is a bit of a southern belle. My father’s work with the FAA brought our family here in 1964. We spent some time in King Salmon, some in Nenana, 7 years in Fairbanks and the rest in Anchorage.
My dad had to travel a lot when I was growing up and she was left running the house hold –taking care of transportation, parent-teacher conferences, all of it. Dinner was always on the table and she gave us chores to help out, but it was a lot of hard work. Through it all, she was always poised and never really caught off guard. She knew how to handle people and she set a great example. She made me realize that my family was always going to be here for me.
My mother still loves to cook and she is excellent at it. She used to do a phenomenal stroganoff and a lot of baking when we were young. Part of my duties as I got older involved starting dinner. She was always there to guide me, but there wasn’t a lot of “do it this way or don’t do it that way.” She gave me a little room to wiggle. I appreciate that she taught me in that way.
My mother is so dear to me. She’s touched a lot of lives. It’s always nice to be able to pick up the phone and be able to talk to her. I am really proud that she is my mom.
Each time I think about it, the more I see how amazing she is—because I remember things like her making our clothes, along with all the other hard work. We just didn’t realize how good we had it until we grew up. She took on the role and filled it completely. You only get one mom. The time with her is precious and I am happy to have it.
