Join us this week to celebrate your Mother, including any woman who has taught, inspired and supported you. We will be sharing photos and stories all week from our members and supporters.
Amy Henderson, QA board alumnus
Amy Henderson with her mom Mary
My mom, Mary, cannot sew. Indeed, I secretly believe she takes a perverse pleasure in being the kind of woman who puts her considerable talents and energies into non-domestic, non-artistic pursuits; in being the antithesis of her mother who made everything for her home. So I did not learn to sew, quilt, embroider, knit, weave (or bake) from my mother. Luckily, I also have a father who is an avid needle-worker and he happily stepped in to pass such time-honored traditions from his generation to mine. Yet there is no doubt that I learned a life-affirming lesson from my mother that strengthens and feeds my creative soul daily, and that is how to be simply me. I do not need to be exactly like my mother, or my grandmother, or any of the other wonderful women in my life. I just need to be me. No mother could have more fully embraced her opposite—in temperament or crafty interest—than mine or been a better role model for how to embrace her child’s stark differences. I have a need to make things, and she in turn learned to cherish each and every crafty endeavor I pursued even as it took time away from the things she wanted to see me do instead. Here we are together around 1982 with my first loom when I developed a taste for crafting independence. As my daughter nears this same age, I see even more clearly how hard—and essential—it is to let her be her and not expect her to be just like me.
Mary Kay Davis with her mom
Mary Kay Davis, QA board member
I was selected to give a speech at my 8th grade graduation. It was a special occasion so my Mom made my dress. (Can you guess the year?) While she was an amazing seamstress, sewing was really not her thing. I think it might have had to do with “having” to make her own clothes during the Depression. I was pretty excited about the whole thing. She let me help pick the pattern and fabric. It was around this time that she let me take sewing lessons and I haven’t stopped since.
To participate in the Mother’s Day StoryShare Week:
First:
- Join or renew your QA membership, or
- Purchase a gift membership for your mom, or
- Make at least a $30 donation on our website or via our FB page.
Second:
Follow this link to submit your story and photo.
We will notify you when your Mother’s Day StoryShare message is posted!