The Magic of Mothers
Magic and Mothers are two words so beautifully, entwined and embedded, seamless they should be one.
Magic, according to the dictionary, is many things: 'having supernatural powers,' 'wonderful,' 'exciting,' 'a quality of being beautiful and magical beyond daily life,’ and another favourite, 'having exceptional skill and talent.'
Magic is the one sweet word for me that sums up the intangible love, care, nurture, guidance, love, patience, sweat, and tears that a Mother gives on a daily basis to bring up her children and impact not only her family in a beautiful way but the community and the world.
So this Mother’s Day, I am going to share with you a little of the ‘magic’ my Mother gave to me and my family, and I would love to hear the magic of yours.
👗 I remember as an 8 year old the warm tears flowing down my cheeks. The night before the school dance, I had nothing pretty to wear. A roll of mauve and white cotton checks, an old Singer sewing machine and the love and artistry of my Mother. Little did I know late into the night, like a fairy godmother, my Mother waved her magic wand. There was the snip of scissors into crisp cotton, the soft whirr of an old Singer sewing machine, the hand stitching of sweet cotton flounces and small white pearl buttons and the careful pressing of the most perfect dress. When I woke in the morning, on the end of the bed was something my 8 year old self could hardly believe was true. The night after, I was beaming, feeling like the luckiest girl on the planet as I alighted from the car in my sweet dress and joined all the other kids laughing and ready for fun. Who knows what my Mum was thinking as I waved from the stairs but 50 years later, I still remember this moment.
❤️ It was rainy and cold, the sweet scents of chocolate chip cookies permeated the house, as a slight 11 year old I remember running up an old mahogany staircase and looking down from the top of three flights of stairs searching for the bobbing ponytail of my sister. Blackness and falling, 30 feet to the ground, the screams of my Mother, the prickly feel of the soft printed grey carpet under my head and a dim sound of an ambulance siren coming closer. Waking up in intensive care, machines beeping, hushed voices whispering, worried looks from nurses rushing in and out. My Mother’s smiling face, comforting, reassuring, beautiful, like an oak tree with her roots planted so far into the ground she never swayed, rock solid devotion, her loving eyes and her outstretched hand. I knew everything would be OK. A week later, we walked out of the hospital without a scratch, just a small bruise and the most grateful Mother on the planet. Part Florence Nightingale and part Viking warrior and bucket loads of deep faith in her flock. Maybe that’s why we believe in miracles and the magic of the unseen world.
🌿 The smell of eucalyptus trees and sausages cooking, the wind whipping our faces and running into the sea and playing with the waves. Voices carried away on the wind and running as fast as we can along a long flat beach without taking a breath. Bonfires on the beach at sunset, kids and adults huddled around the red and blue flames, digging in the sand for pippies and climbing up a thick rope to jump as far as we can into a river, feet first into icy cold water. Sleeping on the floor of a bus that would take us from our small country town 1,800 kilometres to an island off Townsville. Bikes of our own to roam and explore this beautiful island and sunbaking with my brothers and sisters on a deserted beach. Eating my first mango, the juice running down my arms and gobbling the whole thing down like I had just discovered heaven. The gifts of a Mother who valued fun and adventure.
🔮 Mum and I were excited like we always were when we found a new fortune teller. As an 18 year old who had lost my way and was still looking for answers, Mum or I would track down a tea leaf reader in the back streets of Paddington, a tarot card reader on the central coast, or an astrologer in the country. I have my Mum to thank for my curiosity in the unseen world and these outings with her always felt filled with promise and excitement, lots of hope, love, cake, and coffee. Each time, I remember us driving home laughing and sharing what our futures held. One foot in on the earthly plane and one foot in the clouds. Even today, Mum and I love getting in the car without a destination, we love to get out in the world, to explore, to notice, and to laugh and be together.
I am grateful beyond words for the giftsI have been given by my Mother. The love of life, the determination, the curiosity, empathy and compassion for others and animals, and feelings of being loved, safe, and secure.
I haven’t mentioned the thousands of meals she prepared and shopped for, the thousands of beds Mum would have made and the thousands of loads of washing hung out to dry and neatly folded. The tens of thousands of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners she prepared to make all of the above happen. The kilos of Kleenex and the buckets of tears wiped away, and the words of love and encouragement to believe in myself and no matter how bad things were, to try again. The hundreds of gardenias and frangipanis picked to beautify the house and adorn our bedside tables.
Other Mothers have crossed the world to take care of their families, looking for a better life, stood up in court and testified or marched into a school to defend an act of unfairness.
This is the magic of mothers — deep nurturing and full of love and a truckload of work that goes unnoticed and very often undervalued.
Mothers are shaping the future with one word of encouragement, delicious meal, act of love and caring, and a boost to our self belief at a time!!!
Hail, Mothers, you are magical.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Please share the beauty your mother has brought to your life in the comments below. I know yours will be different but just as magical.
Love and light,
Carla x
P.S. We have a little magic for Mothers this Mother’s Day. Get 15% off my prints shopwide with the code MAGICMUM and receive your print before Mother’s Day. Shop here ↠