From one Mother to Another: Happy Mother’s Day.

05/05/2014

– Guest Blog Post Written By Barbara Grant, Founder Of Retrofit Pilates

We are all daughters. Our relationship with our mothers may be close or estranged, comfortable or conflict ridden, a big part or a small part of our life. But we are all daughters.

When I became a mother, my relationship to my own mother changed. As my children grew and along with them my parenting challenges grew, I began to understand my mother more. I understood her choices and I marveled in retrospect at her strength, patience and endurance. My parents raised five sons and a daughter in a house full of pets, neighbours, and visitors who might stay for a couple of hours or a couple of years. Mother’s Day was always a minor celebration at my home. It involved the giving of a card and a small gift and perhaps my father made supper. I don’t recall a more than that. It was a busy household.

It often happens that I see moms and their grown up daughters come to my studio to workout together. They come to a Pilates class together or they come together to workout with one of our trainers in a partner session. It’s a weekly date that is sometimes followed by coffee or at least a quick catch up before mother and daughter rush off to their various days.

My mother did not exercise. She ran around like a chicken with its head cut off (a favourite expression of hers) chasing her six active, athletic children and lugging enormous loads of laundry up and down the stairs and boxes of groceries in and out of the car. She gardened. She cleaned. But she did not exercise.

One dark winter morning when I was about 10 I found my mother lying prone on the living room floor. My first thought was that she was dead. When I roused her she told me she had been doing push-ups. I think she had fallen asleep.

I took my baby son to moms and babes Pilates classes and dance classes. I took my son and baby daughter swimming. We run races together. I exercise. I don’t garden and I clean only as much as I have to. But I exercise. I want my kids to see that.

On Mother’s Day my favourite thing to do is go for a cycle or a hike with my husband and kids. They want to feed me breakfast in bed and have a cake and I indulge that. We are a family that uses any excuse to celebrate with a cake.

The job of a parent is to raise good, healthy adaptable children and to love then no matter what. I was lucky to be raised by such a good mother. She taught me how to be a good mother. This Mother’s Day I will do something active with my kids and I will send my mother, who is far away, some plants. The weather should be nice enough for her to start gardening.

Barbara Grant is the founder and president of Retrofit Pilates and a mother of two. Follow her Confessions of a Body Addict: Keeping fit and sane while raising a family, running a business, and creeping up on 50. http://www.retrofit.ca/barbs-blog

You can also read Barbara’s Taking Care Of Mom post on our website.