Dayenu…..A Mother’s Day Salute

       I was born an only child.  I think that’s what helped my early years to be lonely.  Toys or imaginary friends  were not enough. Having many cousins did help but only when we were together. That was on Sundays .We all went to the same church every Sunday, even Sunday school before church.

My Mom was the family flag carrier when it came to church or serving the lord, as she sometimes put it. She always had a Bible, or an assignment to accomplish for the congregation . She was always  ready to distribute the message word . So, Church was her base.This  did not help my need for company in any way.

The word “friend”always was and is still a most significant word to me. I wanted to be a “friend” and to have them.

What was and still is a friend to me? Well my Mom was my first friend…

A friend begins with another life to share mine with. My time,  loyalty, companionship, fun, were always a primary part of this format . As I gained friends I started to define the word in  more personal detail .

Girls  became  my preferred gender choice. No arguments or petty disputes. The earliest games were “Doctor and Nurse”, or “Mommy and Daddy”…That was a really good one.

Girls, women , ladies were always the top or primary to me. My Dad was very cool but my Mom was….Mom.

GrandMa? There was nothing like her in the whole world to me..So I grew to appreciate and to value women..early in my life… This didn’t take anything from GrandPop..like Dad, it was not an issue to compare. That was just the way things were.

I realized early the separations that religion and ethnic cultures appeared to make.  They seemed to contradict the concept of “human family” at times.

Being raised a”Christian, or Protestant, or Baptist”  seemed to make it easier for me to be curious  about  girls of the Hebrew faith . I  really liked to read and as a child, the Bible was one of the few books in our house.

Eventually I  met  the spirit of  Eve, Esther and Ruth..Judith

Their names were now Jeri, Christine, Libbi, Arlene, Margaret, Marcia, Sandra and Joan, Carmela and certainly Teodora, all of whom I am eternally thankful for.

These women chose to provide me with umbrellas and parachutes. They shared   the subtleties of being aware, of being respected and understood.

Yes,  some were lovers in the most literal sense but surely, I felt love from these women in every sense, as I did from  my family. My need for friends was clearly enriched by these women who chose to be teachers and and guides in this journey of my life..

My friendship needs continued to expand and  the fulfillment of my needs stretched beyond national, social, economic borders . I have been blessed by all women .

However, to make this  all enough, my greatest blessings from women came from those I have never met. They are the keepers of all outside of my needs that makes all life worth living.  They bring  all life into existence. Mothers, wives, sisters and daughters,  they are the protectors and nurturers  of all men and children.

I am eternally grateful for the other human being, Woman, for she is the caretakers of all or everything that exists.