The Original DIY Mom Blogger

Just when I think that my generation of moms is the most innovative, most creative, and most industrious that has ever lived, I am reminded that just like Ecclesiastes says- there is nothing new under the sun.  Sometimes I look at Etsy, Pinterest, LollyWoddleMoodle moms and think "man, we sure have reached the pinnacle of cuteness and inspiration"- that no other generation of mothers has ever come close to this level of creativity, multitasking, enlightenment in parenting and all of the other awesomeness that makes us rad.  I mean, come on!  We are the Pinterest generation of mothers; the generation that makes front door wreaths out of swimming pool noodles, that can make 40 organic freezer meals in 20 minutes or less and create a DIY Darth Vader light saber out of a empty roll of wrapping paper, duct tape and metallic spray paint.  (Please note- I'm talking about my generation- not me personally.  I can do none of these things.  Fairies die when I craft.)

But I was reminded this past weekend about some of the most legit moms from days gone by.  Moms that paved the way for other moms like me to sit and blog in mom utopia.  Um- where shall I start?

Um probably starting with Betsy Ross is a good place- can you imagine the ridiculously awesome crafts that her kids got to do?  I just did a Google search to determine that she did in fact have seven children- and while I can't state with any historical integrity that that is correct information since I did not click into the full article, my mind is reeling with the ideas of what I imagine that her 5-7 kids got to do.  Forget finger painting with home made shaving cream paint.  Little Jessop and Mildred (okay, those probably aren't her kids' real names...but maybe) probably got to sew stars on the very first American Flag.  Mom awesomeness- right there.

And then what about all those moms during the Black Death?  I bet they had to be resourceful- what with all the bacteria running rampant and all.  I bet they would have laughed in the face of our "10 ways to keep germs away from your kid" blog post cuteness.  And then there are the moms that brought their children across the unsettled country in covered wagons- can you imagine the car games those moms could think of?  Oh!  And what about those two mom's that gave birth to the two babies on the Mayflower.  Talk about having to nurse in public! 

I spent some time with my husband's grandmother this past weekend and was reminded of the greatness that has been passed to us ladies that are currently mamas of young babies.  I sometimes think of what is "hip and current" now and realize that once upon a time the modern mama's of their time were building their homes and loving on their babies with same nurturing creativity and inspiration that we at times feel that we're pioneering.  Talk about independent and strong women! My husband's Mana was born in 1919, which meant that she spent her childhood years during the Great Depression.  She didn't need Dave Ramsey's baby steps to teach her how to be frugle- for gosh sakes the woman still clips coupons!  You know all that vintage stuff that we're all collecting right now?  She's the generation of ladies that perfected that stuff the first time around.  

There were no foodie blogs back then, no Rachael Ray magazine subscriptions, no Kraftfoods.com.  Yet these ladies made their mark on the homemaking world and passed down a legacy that was passed down again and again and even again and that we are running with today.  For my wedding gift Mana gave me over 250 recipes-  HANDWRITTEN, many original, that she has collected and perfected over the years.  

You can't pin that to any board.  

Mana is the consummate homemaker.  Her closets are filled with empty toilet paper rolls, used gallon size milk jugs, old icecream containers- all things that she would donate to her church's children's department to use for arts and crafts.  Truly a Baptist preschool director's dream!!  The aprons my kids are wearing in the pictures below are aprons that Mana made for the kids in her Sunday School class- they say "I can be a helper".  

Not only did she love on her two boys- John and Irby, but she took care of and still does take care of her husband of 72 years.  Talk about love- this woman has made him a pot of coffee every day for 72 years and she doesn't even drink the stuff!!  And she has gone on to love four grandchildren- Amy , Nathan, Benjamin and Matthew- and now has two great grandchildren! 

This weekend, Mana gave my little girl a "hand-me-down" dress- a dress that's over 90 years old that her own mother (Meemaw- someone I never met) MADE for her that Mana wore when she was a toddler herself.  

As Harper paraded around Mana's prairie dress, I imagined all of the love that went into stitching that dress 90+ years ago.  I imagined the excited that I feel when I'm doing my second-hand shopping (it's called consignment- JBF, people!) for my kiddo's and the immense pride I feel when I find a "treasure" and I multiplied that feeling times a hundred. I imagined with every stitch of Meemaw's sewing needle that she bustled with pride to think that her own little girl- her little baby Margaret- was going to wear that dress.  Maybe she imagined how she'd fix her hair when she wore it.  Maybe she made it for a special event at church.  Maybe she teared up when baby Margaret put it on for the first time, thinking how cute and grown up she looked. I wonder if Meemaw could have ever imagined that her great great Granddaughter would be wearing that very dress some day. 

(Somehow I doubt that my great great grand kids are going to be trying on Gavin's Gap pearl button dress shirts that I buy him at the consignment stores...but I'm not taking up sewing now- no matter how nostalgic I feel!)  I left our meeting feeling humbled by the great maternal legends that came before me- most without the same "community" feeling that we can so quickly find.

So fellow mothers- blog on, Pinterest on, decorate on, hot glue on and continue to bestow love upon your families in the most ingenius and artistic ways!  And remember the ladies that loved us and taught the mama's that loved us how to do the same.  

(photos courtesy of Amy Cox- an exceedingly talented writer, photographer and one of the best huggers in the history of the world)