Happy Mother’s Day 2025
On May 1 our youngest daughter turned 18 making this the first Mother’s day in 43 years that all six of our children are adults. It feels like a huge achievement–on the Richter scale of motherhood, like at 6.0- enough shake to stir things up, but not do damage.
In the spirit of celebration, I’ve taken up cold water plunging, or swimming, because after you get in and regain your breath, you might as well stay for a while.
Arielle suggested we take a plunge and swim in the Columbia River for her 18th birthday. The river is about 52 degrees right now. In preparation I read the book Chill: the Cold Water Swim Cure. It was frightening, exhilarating, and breathtaking (époustouflant in French)– all at once. It was the perfect celebration for the occasion. I’m hooked. After about three minutes I don’t want to get out and find myself swimming around, thinking of all the possibilities of this new life after raising children for 43+ years.
This coming of age of our youngest daughter is also a coming of age for me as a mom, an exciting time. Some of this enthusiasm springs from an upcoming trip back to Paris this week. In planning it, I hadn’t thought of it as a celebration of this new age until recently when I realized I’m no longer responsible for my children’s lives, yet I get to enjoy them. My job is complete, even though motherhood is a job you can never quit *(Fanny Howe).
If you were looking for Mamomemo.com, (May is Motherhood Memoir Month)- this is it. I’ve combined the sites for now, but here’s the prompt for writing: coming of age + color…
What do you think of when you hear this phrase? Have you applied it to a phase in your life, beyond the obvious? what color would it be, or what color could you incorporate into your writing? I like amethyst… and maybe Tyrolian purple… When I am old I shall wear one or many shades of these… More on my new life in Paris and beyond soon…
**Fanny Howe is a poet and novelist, and was my mentor at UCSD.
