Stone-Washed Stockings and My Homeroom Mom

When I was in the third grade, my mom was the homeroom mother for my class. I never questioned this at the time, but looking back, I wonder how on earth she made this work. Mom’s job was running a daycare out of our home. There weren’t lunch breaks or days off, or any of those other things that allow working-moms a touch of breathing-room. So, how she put together parties for our class remains a mystery (not to mention before Volunteer-Spot and email and Facebook and texting…). I tell you this to set the stage for a memory that has grown in significance to me as I journey along this thing called motherhood.

As I remember through the eyes of my eight-year-old self, it was December, and time for the class Christmas party. I have visions of gingerbread Little Debbie’s being purchased, but rest of the normal party things are a blur to me. What is a very clear memory is that my mom had the notion that not every child in my class had a Christmas stocking at home. She could not stand the thought. So, she made a trip to the local T.W.L., bought fabric, and made 20 or so Christmas stockings. I can still hear her sewing machine humming along as I went so sleep (for what seemed like a month). The stockings were stuffed with candy and given to every kid in my class.

In a perfectly late-80’s touch, those stockings were a stone-washed denim. I may remember someone not so nicely commenting on that fabric to me. I may have been deflated for a second, but even back then I knew that what my mom did was something special. Now I think about those stockings and get teary every time.

The woman who had a heart that broke thinking of children not having Christmas stockings reared me to be a person who really sees people. Of all the qualities my mother has shown and passed down, this is the one shapes me more than any of the others. On this Mother’s Day, in the midst of this season we’ve been living, this is what I’m thinking about. I am more thankful than I can put into words that I have the privilege of caring for this lady who has taken such wonderful care of me.

Happy Mother’s Day,
Devin