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February 28, 2017
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What Makes a Mother?

I’m a librarian and one of our many important tasks is preserving the past. Archivists take special delight in safeguarding our history for future generations. The Ross-Cherry Creek Branch of the Denver Public Library has partnered with Stories Not Forgotten to create a short film featuring Denver mothers and their adult children being interviewed about motherhood and around the theme of “What Makes a Mother?” There is no charge for this and anyone who agrees to be interviewed will receive their footage even if they are not featured in the final production.

This past year I’ve been through many of the firsts, my birthday, my son’s first birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas…but Mother’s Day is coming. It will be a hard day for me for many reasons, and anyone who has lost their mother knows what I mean. It’s my second Mother’s Day as a mother without a mother, but last year she had just passed away and I was still reeling. However, now the reality of not having her around can and often does brings me to tears. I have questions I want to ask her about raising my son. I still need kitchen tips and tricks. I miss the sound of her voice, the sound of her laugh. I wish I had known that we didn’t have years left to be together. I wish I had known that my mother wouldn’t see my son grow into a man, the way she had watched me grow into a woman.

And so it goes…When someone passes away we don’t want to think of our life without them, sometimes it seems impossible to imagine. I get very emotional when a picture of my mother appears on a Facebook memory or someone tells me a story about her, because my grief is still fresh. My husband lost his mother ten years ago. Unfortunately I never had the chance to meet her.  He tells me stories about her and shows me pictures. He doesn’t burst into tears because he misses her, he’s able to find a little bit of joy in those memories and her legacy is evident in our son. He was born with red hair and blue eyes, just like his grandmother. My husband has often lamented that he wishes he had video of his mother. Pictures and stories are great but there is something so touching and so lovely about seeing the person, hearing their voice, watching their gestures, seeing them alive.

When I die my son will have plenty of memories of me courtesy of the interwebs, but when I discovered Stories Not Forgotten I was captivated by the idea of recording family histories in the medium of film. I have always wanted to record some of my 85 year old father’s stories. I keep meaning to do it but I haven’t yet.  I like the idea of having him tell stories about my mother that one day we can show our son. Our boy will have no memories of his grandmother… and so the idea of partnering at work with Stories Not Forgotten for a special Mother’s Day film featuring Denver mothers and children was born!

(clip provided by Stories Forgotten)

So this Mother’s Day, help me celebrate moms of Denver! Give moms more than a material gift, although I’m sure physical gifts such as jewelry or massage gift certificates would be appreciated for the mothers in your life. (Hint hint to my husband!) These short interviews may give you the opportunity to let your mom know that you love and appreciate her while she is still here and you will have something nice to show your children when they grow up.  The screening of the film on Tuesday May 16, 2017 at 6:00 PM will also be a time to come together as a community and celebrate the ties that bind us rather than all of the things that divide us.

If you are interested in participating you can sign up here or you can call the Ross-Cherry Creek Library at 720-865-0120 and ask for Rebekah! Please follow us on Facebook to learn about all of our exciting programs and resources!

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