Sunday 22 April 2012

100 years of learning

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate my mother's 100th birthday with her and each of my six siblings, their partners and my husband. It was a special family occasion and a tribute to her in so many ways. The 15 of us lunched in a lounge room in the small country hospital in South Australia where she has been resident for the last seven and a half years. 
Here's a woman who left school at the end of primary school as there was no money for her to continue into secondary years so she needed to go out to work. She still had a burning desire to learn and never ceased to do so. She and my father struggled through a tough farm existence but she always valued 'learning' of any sort and encouraged us to always try and do our best.
One of her favourite mottos has been "if a job is worth doing then its worth doing well." This applied equally to her care of family, attitude to tasks and of course, learning.

Thank you Mum for so much, for your positive outlook on life and for the opportunities you provided for me which required great sacrifices made by both you and Dad.

Today many of her 27 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren will call to see her. May they and all of us open our minds to the possibilities and enrichment that continual learning provides.

2 comments:

  1. Happy birthday Carmel's Mum! What a great spirit and philosophy.

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  2. Your Mum and my Mum share a birthday. Like yours, my mum was a wonderful lady, also born on the land and who lived through some difficult times. And like your mum, she always had a positive outlook on life and an attitude that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. She died two years ago at the age of 91, but every day her gutsy outlook on life is an inspiration to me. Thanks for sharing your story :)

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