RSS 2.0 FeedMay 6, 2011, Weekly editorial
Mother’s Day is Sunday
From the very first Mother’s Day celebrated in a Southern church almost a hundred years ago, Mother’s Day has been associated with flowers. White carnations were worn in honor of deceased mothers. And a living mother would be given a red carnation to wear to church on that day. So, in honor of that tradition, I would like to use this editorial column to present a white carnation to my dear departed mother, Faith Brewer Laursen, and a red carnation to my beloved daughter-in-law and mother of my grandchildren, Arlene Toscano:
A white carnation...
My mother, the former publisher of this newspaper and namesake of the Faith Laursen Meroke Preserve, served her country as a public relations officer for the Red Cross on the Indian subcontinent during World War II. She developed an admiration for the British war heroes she met there, such as Lord Mountbatten, and a lifelong fondness for the English, whom she also counted among her ancestors.
Watching the royal wedding in London this past Friday brought back memories of a trip there with my daughters. When we saw the statues of some of the World War II heroes, how I wished I had been able to ask my mother about them. When we saw a restaurant named Brewer (her maiden name) and some people from California posing for pictures in front of it because it was their name, too, I missed her more.
A red carnation...
Arlene once said one reason she fell in love with my son was that he cared so much about his new sister, born soon after they met at the university. And there could not have been a more devoted sister-in-law, even before they were married. So we knew she would be a great mother.
Their first son, Luis, was born while they were still in grad school. And so, typical of her scholarly nature, Arlene had read up all about the latest “How-to’s on pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. She was super-organized because I guess she had to be. And I’m sure Luis was such a good baby because of the way his parents cared for him.
When Arlene became ill, the whole family pulled together to parent under her leadership. And I think her maternal love helped give her the strength to reach a full recovery. Then little Anna came along, and Arlene was as loving a mother to her daughter as to her son, balancing the needs of both. With her husband having a long commute, she had an equally long day of child care, chauffeuring and home management.
She is a wonderful cook, having mastered all of her Italian family recipes and many of ours. In fact, I would bet on her Spanish potato omelet in any competition with her cousins-in-law in Spain! Her organizational and bookkeeping skills have been a big help in this newspaper’s office when we have needed someone to fill in.
Now, the children are in school for a longer day, and she has gone back to school, too, to update her teaching credentials. So, she has even more balancing to do. Again, I admire how she does it all. Her whole family adores her and she deserves it! If I could, I would give her a red carnation every day of the year.
