roberta jean ...

Remember those chore boards from when you were a kid? Those lovely little charts with empty boxes awaiting completion. I simply adored (and still do) anything that when accomplished, gets a shiny GOLD STAR sticker! Or pink or purple ... One of my most favorite tasks was setting the table. Not just any table though - the dining room table. WITH CHINA! My mother's beautiful plates - off white, gold rimmed, fragile, delicate and simply wonderful. People make fun of china saying it's wasteful and needless. In fact I did not register for it when I got married, but I love my mother's china. There were steps to setting the oh-so-special dining room table for holidays. First, you have to put the table extensions into the table which requires you to pull the table apart (SO COOL!) and put the long wooden extensions in. I love magic, expanding tables. The next step was to put these bright green, felt-lined (think of the last pool table you played on and it's exactly that texture) pads on top of the beautiful, and now HUGE, dining table. Then ... the longest table clothe ever, plates, silverware, gravy boat, salad bowls, water goblets, wine classes... It was like playing to me. The silverware wasn't just in a drawer, it was in a special box! And the dining room had a special cabinet with all these wonderful goodies in it. I can muster up the amazing smell of this cabinet right this very minute. Setting the dining room table for a holiday or special meal ... I simply loved it and I love even the memory of this job. My mother let me do it since I was pretty little I think. Though I cannot remember the exact age this task was assigned to me, I had to have been pretty young. There are certain times in growing up that you just love being an adult. Independent, confident, out there doing things and becoming someone. There are other times that I love being a child still. A daughter. Like when I go and visit my Marmee in Memphis and I walk into her closet. I do it every visit. It smells like Marmee. A very, very good smell. My mom has always smelled so good, and she started my grown up love affair with all things perfume, candles, oils and more. Back to the closet though - I love seeing what's in there. Her stuff. I'll just flip through it and browse. It's not the clothes. It's her essence. She's very beautiful outwardly, but there's more to it than that. I love seeing the colors and textures that compose how she expresses herself. And don't get me started on her jewelry. Roberta is sort of a jewelry fanatic. She has a lot of it - and it's awesome. I love opening her drawer and seeing it. Touching the different stones or chains. My father bought her some amazing jewels back in the day (I saw romance first hand when I was growing up) and it's only grown and gotten more and more unique as her tastes have changed and expanded. All of this takes me back to a young age. I love that feeling. I'm a daughter. I remember watching my mother many times when I was young. On stage singing. She was so beautiful. Loud and expressive with her voice. I loved watching her play the piano. I still do and request for her to sing songs from Les Miserables or Phantom of the Opera when I can. I loved cooking with her and also watching her cook. She made (and still does) yummy stuff. I loved watching her in her garden. Mom has an extremely green thumb. I loved watching her do her hair - the smells of a hair dryer just turned off, a curling iron heating up. The particular scent of makeup - Estee Lauder was her brand back then. I am considered by many as a very "girly" girl in this way. I love being a woman and all the feminine things that compose that. I think my mom showed me how from a very young age and I'm grateful for that. I love that I can call her up and ask her the most "Martha Stewart" question and she typically knows the answer or will find it for me. Something I'd don't take for granted. I love these memories - the emotions they evoke, the smells, the colors. I'm so grateful I have a mother like I do. I love you Marmee. You are beautiful. And you bring beauty to the world in everything that you do. Happy Mother's Day.