To us it was just a spoon

 To us it was just a spoon…

Over the years we often joke as a family how much mom seemed attached to certain things, especially her Tupperware! Lord forbid if we forget to return a bowl. Recently she asked Jesse for her “Potato Salad” spoon back. Good grief I thought I don’t even know what it looks like, as we rummaged through ours looking for one that was out of place, all the while I was secretly wishing she wouldn’t leave things behind because so often with the kids doing dishes as chores I can’t find certain things. Thankfully Jesse knew… he pays attention to such minor details and he found it for her. When we returned it she was so appreciative and told us the story behind it. She had been visiting her mother, and she commented boy that’s a nice spoon Ma… to which her mother responded you like, you can have it. You need a good sturdy spoon for potato salad. I cry just typing that out. You see us is it was just a spoon but to her it was a memory of her mother’s unfailing love attached to that spoon. She said to us… that’s just who my mom was, she didn’t have much but she’d still be willing to give to us and show us how much she loved us. 

I’m so thankful my mom is the same exact way. Whenever I give her money to buy something for herself… 9 times out of 10 she’s getting something for someone else. We may not always understand her when she’s being difficult but she’s been through so much loss and heartache so the next time I think, “ Gosh it’s just a spoon.”  I hope I remember this beautiful story attached to the spoon itself.