Out Gardening With Mom

This is such a touching song- very inspirational. My mother is a jolly soul with a youthful attitude. Parental approaches differ and hers is a liberal style. She has always gone on about the kind of relationship she would have wanted to have with her mother- an open one. As a result my mother has tried to keep the communication channel flowing positively with her children. Whilst I am grateful for having such a warm relationship with my mom, I am saddened by the harsh reality that she was not able to reap the same fruits with her own mother.

One day we were out gardening. She was teaching me how to grow the most essential crops, like beans and vegetables. We always spend quality time together most weekends baking, at the hair dressing saloon and doing other interesting things. Sand is very symbolic to mother as she associates it with death. That day whilst in the garden she told me that one day she will go back to the soil and I will have to soldier on until it is time for us to return to the soil too. To her this meant that life is short and every day should be lived prolifically.

I then understood why the song, ‘Lean on Me’ roused so much emotion in her. Apart from longing to have had such moments with her mother, the song made her appreciate the gift of life. It is comforting to know that although mistakes of the past can not be undone they can change an individual for the better. She has tried to be the perfect mom; hardworking, strong, comforting, approachable so that we too are left singing, ‘Lean on Me’ or some other equivalent in future to our children.