The Mixer

Years ago my mom was hurt in an accident and she was hurt pretty badly. She wasn't able to walk for a few months. She basically hung out in the recliner at my house waiting for her knee to heal. It took several months. I was her caretaker those months…I had to do everything for her. It was tough. I had five kids…my youngest was only 2 years old, I was homeschooling and my house was really busy. But you do what you have to do. Right? Now, with my mom gone, I sure wish I could go back to those days. Now I realize it was an honor to care for her.

This blog post really isn’t about that. During that time she watched a lot of television. Of course, she didn’t have anything else to do. We still have crazy memories of her watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers over and over again with my girls. Not her choice…it was the girls who were obsessed with that movie. After those few months she absolutely hated that movie…lol  And she seemed to watch QVC a lot. Remember QVC? Where you could shop at home? I know a lot of older people liked it. Especially for those who couldn’t get around. Well, one day she was so excited…because she had bought a Kitchen Aid mixer. She was jubilant. LOL She liked to cook and bake, but she didn’t do a ton of that at that time. But she always wanted one of those machines. It was huge for her. And the cost was high…more than she probably every spent on a kitchen item. She was set. She was getting a mixer.

And sure enough the Kitchen Aid mixer showed up. And she loved it. We all used it. It was such an amazing little machine. She started to make cakes with it for her friends. Her specialty was her carrot cake. She would make a carrot cake for all of her friends on their birthdays. She loved her mixer.

 In October 2016, my mom passed away and we were cleaning out her house. And the kitchen aid mixer sat there. She had loved that machine. That machine spoke volumes to me. It was so special to her. I think in so many ways it symbolized her buying something frivolous for herself. And that was something she never did. She always gave to others…and this one time she actually spoiled herself.  I already had one of my own by then. And we were trying to give away her household items. I didn’t feel right keeping it…since I already had one. But at the same time it was hard for me to give it away. And then I remembered that a friend of mine, Lisa,  needed one because her machine was not working the best anymore. And my friend loved to bake. So I gave it to her. And she was so happy. And I knew my mom would have been happy for her to have it.

A few weeks ago Lisa said that she was trying to clean out some clutter in her house and she wanted to know if I wanted the kitchen aid mixer back. She still had her old machine and felt a little nostalgic towards it since she had it for her whole marriage. And I happily took it back. I knew where it needed to go. My niece Brianna hadn’t lived in Florida when my mom passed away, but now she did. And she was setting up her house here. And I knew the mixer should go to Brianna. I knew she would love it. I knew that she would use it and make cakes and baked goods for my mom’s great grand baby.  Giving it to Brianna brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. It went to it’s rightful place. 

It’s the little things in life that bring us joy, heal wounds and spread happiness.