Children and Parents

I received a phone call today from a friend. It was still early and I was in the kitchen getting ready to brew the morning cup o' joe when I heard my phone ring. I went to the bedroom and reached for the phone, but alas, the ringing had stopped. I pressed "call back" and I heard the news that I knew would be coming one day as my friend spoke on the other end. My friend's mother had passed away from her battle with cancer and she was wondering if I would watch her dogs as she traveled with her husband back home.

Of course I would watch her dogs is what I explained to her over my own tears.

I hung up the phone, but I couldn't let her leave Columbia and drive hours back to Kentucky without a hug. I poured the coffee into two thermoses and drove five minutes to their home, hoping that I would still be able to give her a hug and a warm cup of coffee for the road.

I made it to her house and I got to hug her.

Today has been "off" ever since. News of a loved one passing, or even of a friend's loved one passing, is enough to throw me off kilter, or maybe it's just the opposite, maybe it puts everything back in perspective. I didn't have the motivation I had to run some of the errands around town. I wanted to be home. I wanted to be around things that my mom provided for me growing up. I wanted her homemade cookies; not for their deliciousness, but for the smell - the smell of "home". I wanted to curl up on a couch and watch It's a Wonderful Life while eating popcorn. I wanted to watch her paint again like she did when I was little. I wanted to watch her paint for hours at the old wooden table covered in layers and colors of paint.

The truth is that it hurts that I can still go home and see my mom, but my friend can't.

Today, I thank God for Moms - Good or bad. Strong or Weak. Motherly or distant. They are our mothers and we are asked to honor our parents; our mothers.

In spirit of thanking my mom for always caring, in the spirit of simplicity, in the spirit of "homemade goodness", I have decided to make a buttermilk ranch dressing that I have been wanting to make, but too lazy since I have a jar in the fridge from a grocery's store shelf. Somehow, though, it's not like homemade cookies. I will leave those to be made for when my friend returns and she will need to be reminded of "home"...

Ephesians 6:1-3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother - which is the first commandment with a promise - that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.

To honor our parents is not only for their good, but God promises us that it is for our good. For our good and His glory...

Now on to making some delicious dressing - I'll make sure to post photos and the recipe. :)