I wrote the following seven years ago, to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday. The photo is from my recent visit.
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| Mom and me.....Sept. 2014 photo by Marty Bruce Scheall |
Across the room, Rose, my one year old grand-daughter, beats her drum and sings, while Fern, her older sister, tap dances and plays her ukulele. Sara, my daughter, joins her daughters on viola and West African rhythm instruments, while I play piano.
Music and dance are as present in our family as the nuts are to the squirrels outside the window.
My three sisters and I were driven routinely to various lessons from our rural home---which meant a lot of driving for Mom and a hefty financial burden for the family.
Our two-bedroom home--without plumbing and heated by a coal stove--was on ten scruffy acres, twenty minutes from Columbia, Missouri. Orchards, vegetable gardens and pastures provided most of our food--raised and preserved by my parents and grandparents. On Sundays we attended services at a little country church, in our matching home-made dresses. Then, a couple of times a week, we made the trip into town to study dance, piano, violin or anything else we might want to explore. ( I had a brief stint as a baton twirler!)
"How come you and your sisters do all of that fancy stuff in town?" my friend asked when she came to my dance recital.
"Mom was raised in the country and moved often. She didn't get to take dance or music lessons, so when she ended up with all of these daughters she decided to make sure we got what she missed." I had heard that story often so it t made perfect sense to me as I explained it to my friend, but I didn't realize at that time how powerful and influential those opportunities were.
Mom infused us with her love for fashion, literature, writing, music, dance, religion and theater as she exposed us to as many cultural events as she could manage. Although she doesn't play an instrument, she often sings hymns --as her mother did --while working in the garden, scrubbing floors or ironing clothes.
We all grew up, got married and became mothers. Mom's influence has continued as many of her grand children now study music and dance.
Mom's legacy of introducing us to a broader culture--one of fancy stuff--is evident now as we gather to celebrate her birthday with instruments, dance and songs.
The beat goes on.
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