My neighbor was walking the neighborhood this morning with her grown daughter, deep in conversation as they passed by Pogo and me. We share the daily ritual most days – usually my neighbor is with her husband and dog. On weekends her daughter joins her. It seems they use the time to catch up on intimacies from the past week as they lead their independent lives.
“A mother’s treasure is her daughter. “~ Catherine Pulsifer
Watching that close repartee sparked a yearning for the same. I miss that kind of friendship between mother and daughter, a relationship I never actually experienced. I’m not sure how you can miss what you never really had, but somehow I do.
“The mother-daughter relationship is the most complex.” ~Wynonna Judd
My mother was my biggest supporter as a child; she schlepped me to one audition after another as I chased my dream of being on stage. And after each rejection she comforted my heartbreak by telling me that someday she just knew my time would come. Just persevere.
And when my heart was breaking from a boy I loved who wouldn’t be mine, it was my mother who helped me recognize that life wasn’t over. And it was also she who comforted the boys that loved me but weren’t able to win my heart. She counseled them on the phone and encouraged them to move on.
It was also my mother, and only my mother, who came to my piano recitals, choir performances, plays (as a chorus member), and later – talent shows and performances at college. She rooted for me in everything I did and felt that I could hang the moon if I wanted to.
“1 mother + 1 daughter = 2 best friends” author unknown
But she was never my friend. As I grew older we continued to talk, but we grew farther apart never really learning much about what makes the other tick. She was consumed with her frustrations and I with a need to offer her ways out of them, though she never heeded any of my suggestions. She was not a mother who pulled her children close to her, in fact, she looked forward to the days when we’d be out on our own and she could fly solo again.
I have a few women friends who adore their mothers, respect and admire them and spend as much time with them as possible. I’ve always envied them; I wish I’d known that closeness.
What’s your relationship like with your mother? And how has it changed over the years?
actthreedotnet 
What Is Talent?
Posted in baby boomers, boomers/aging, mid-life, Uncategorized, writing, tagged Annie Liebowitz, Arts and Entertainment, baby boomer, baby boomers, boomer women, commentary, Creative writing, Dominique Browning, Non-fiction, personal growth, self improvement, Thomas Friedman, women over 50 on November 1, 2011| 1 Comment »
She was looking for a way to nurture her creativity in a new raw, rather primal testament to where she stands in her life now – and she photographed objects instead of people.
For some reason the thought of Annie Liebowitz experiencing a creative crisis is anathema to me. She’s certainly among the most well-known photographers of this era, amassing a healthy livelihood along the way. And yet she reached a point in her life where she questioned, what’s next?
Her talent is photography; more importantly, she’s able to communicate a mood, attitude of a subject that transcends the page and penetrates our soul.
What is this nebulous noun, talent, and how is it recognized and, ultimately, grown? According to Liebowitz it can disappear. “It needs to be nurtured, taken care of.” And that’s why she’s forging experimental terrain with her “Pilgrimage” subject matter.
Image via Wikipedia
Oprah’s talent is communication and empathy.
Image via Wikipedia
Steve Jobs married intuition with innovation to realize his blazing talent.
Image via Wikipedia
Thomas Friedman blends the gift of writing with insight and intellect to manifest his talent.
What about the rest of us? How do we grow our talent, help it to blossom and bear fruit?
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