A Love of Labour
Posted on May 28, 2014 under Storytelling with no comments yet
There’s labour….and there’s labour
Mother’s Day is in the rear view mirror. It strikes me as just a bit odd that we only shine the light on mothers on one day of the year. They nurture and mold their youngsters and sometimes mother turns into s’mother! They are the masters of multi-tasking. They are the cement that keeps most families grounded and solid. There have been many generations of mothers, but they all have one thing in common. Raising their children is a labour of love.
Many of my neighbors are avid gardeners. Every spring, I watch with fascination and admiration. They can’t wait for the frost to come out of the ground so that they can dig their fingers into the moist soil. It borders on a mystical experience. They will wave politely as you walk past their yards, but one mustn’t disturb them when they have that “zen-like” look in their eyes.
There are many other labours of love. A man in his shop, creating things out of wood or fixing his motorcycle is something to behold. The passion for his work is only exceeded by his passion for his wife. Well, most of the time, anyways. I can neither build nor repair things. I am pretty good at damaging things so if you want something destroyed then I’m your man.
Quilting can be a life-long love affair for many women. Ditto for knitting. I even tried knitting for a short stint back in the early 80’s while recovering from knee surgery. I made about a dozen Lopi sweaters in a short period of time. I attacked this with the zeal of someone sitting down to his first feed of lobsters. Many times the knits and purls resembled the aftermath of a tornado. I distinctly remember driving like a maniac out to see Marie Mackenzie in Morristown when I just couldn’t get something untangled. It was the first time in my life that I encountered a real magician. She always laughed when she saw me turn into her driveway.
With the passing of the years, grandchildren come along and this becomes the new and greatest labour of love. New grandmothers exhibit boundless energy and a new spring in their step. It is all the joy of parenthood and none of the responsibility. Priceless.
New parents today have small families compared to previous generations. A family of four children is uncommonly large. I recently met a couple who had come from families of 13 and 14 children respectively. Which got me thinking about labour and delivery.
I witnessed the birth of our four children. After getting over the complete shock the first time around, a man knows what to expect. And so does his wife. Delivering four children is one thing … and I don’t want to minimize the effort that went into producing our own offspring. But going through labour and delivery 14 times?
That’s what I call a “love of labour”.
Comments