Tag: Mother’s Day

Mother’s Whisper

Your mother is always with you…
She’s the whisper of the leaves
as you walk down the street.
She’s the cool hand on your brow
when you’re not well.
Your mother lives inside your laughter.
She’s crystallized in every tear drop.
She’s the place you came from,
your first home…
She’s the map you follow
with every step that you take.
She’s your first love
and your first heart break…
and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, Not space
Not even death
will ever separate you
from your mothe
You carry her inside of you

-Deborah Culver

Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching, I felt it long before I knew the actual date. Missing my mother is something I’ve grown into, but not something I adjust to. I know how much I was loved, but felt ill prepared for the day I’d go on without her. Yet, here I am four years into this journey.

I’m a very nostalgic person at my core. I have strong memories that live inside me and I try to share them here on this blog, especially in my older cooking posts. Here is one such example, Isn’t it Ironic. Or, This is Us which talks about holding on to those items that have memories connected to them. Finally, my Mother’s Day post from back in 2018. Not much has changed, except I won’t be serving meat based meatballs this year. I do have a nice vegan version of meatballs to serve over zucchini noodles though.

I’ve learned along the way, that the best gift to give, or receive, is the gift of time. Spending time together means more to me than any flowers you send, though I love flowers. I do, however, love giving and receiving gifts that carry special meaning and memories. When it comes to Mother’s Day gifts, I always tried to attach that sentimentality to my selections. These are a few of the things I’ve been looking at for myself this year, all connected to family traditions, memories and of course, health.

*I only share things I personally love, whenever sharing items, and if you purchase through these links, there is no additional costs incurred to you. I may receive a small compensation from Amazon, which offsets the costs of running my blog, so thank you for your support.

Mother’s Day Gift Guide 2024

A Loving Table:Creating Memorable Gatherings, Kimberly Whitman

A truly stunning coffee table book that carries such a beautiful testament to family traditions. Beautiful photographs and words, take us on a journey. Inspiring tables and entertaining styles of 34 tastemakers in their regions or society at large show how they keep traditions passed down from mothers and grandmothers alive in their families. Each style maker shares tips and lessons in entertaining that she learned from the women in her life. Tip boxes from each generation will help the readers learn from them and use their ideas, or even better create their own traditions. This book pulled at me from the start, but the fact it was published on my birthday, made me feel all the more connected.

Fitbit Versa 4 Fitness Smartwatch with Daily Readiness, GPS, 24/7 Heart Rate, 40+ Exercise Modes, Sleep Tracking and more

I’ve been wearing my Fitbit for years and truly think it is the best gift of health you can give to anyone in your life. What get’s measured, gets improved and this watch allows me to measure my daily activity, heart rate and more. The most important measurement for my health journey has been my sleep tracking. I have really improved my sleep through awareness. I have written about the importance of sleep on my blog several times. Consider visiting one of these posts to learn more – Sweet Dreams and Sleep Your Secret Weapon.

Ninja BL770 Mega Kitchen System, 1500W, 4 Functions for Smoothies, Processing, Dough, Drinks & More

I love this system so much, I’ve bought it twice. It was the first thing I purchased when I moved to my new home and I gifted one to my daughter in law. It’s truly the best gift you can give, or get, this Mother’s Day. It is a key component of my cooking and healthy lifestyle and one I use daily. I make morning smoothies, full of healthy vegetables and fruit to start my day off strong and I use the food processor almost daily to prepare my plant based recipes. I’ve had an expensive Vitamix, but the ease of use and especially cleaning of this machine makes it the winner, hands down! It is a must have for any home cook in your life.

Maman and Me: Recipes from Our Iranian American Family by Roya Shariat and Gita Sadeh

This is on my personal gift list this year, so I hope my family is reading. A gorgeous cookbook filled with 78 delicious cook-at-home Iranian American recipes from a mother and daughter. The authors welcome you into their home, as they share their family recipes that include soups and stews, main dishes, desserts, beverages, and so much more. The book takes a unique approach to Iranian cuisine, with recipes and twists that celebrate the evolution of Iranian food in America. I have been expanding my cooking repertoire to include more international recipes and this book looks so exciting. I cannot wait to try the garlicky eggplant dip!

Pasta Grannies: The Official Cookbook: The Secrets of Italy’s Best Home Cooks

In NYC, we often ate at a beautiful restaurant called, Nonnas. The chefs rotated and were all Nonnas from different regions. There is a Youtube channel put out by the Nonnas in this book. I highly recommend you check them out and this book as well. I mean, who doesn’t love pasta? I love making homemade pasta for my family. Fresh ingredients and homemade are so much healthier than processed pasta offerings in boxes at supermarkets. Give it a try, even if you limit your pasta indulgence, you’ll be glad you did.

Body Restore Shower Steamers Aromatherapy 15 Packs – Stress Relief and Effortless Self Care, Lavender Bath Bombs

I love these shower steamers and bath bombs, especially as a way to end the day. Totally relaxing and feels so comforting. Cannot go wrong with this gift for anyone in your life, for any gift event.

I hope you enjoy shopping for those you love as much as I do. I am honored to share my journey with you all and hope you get what you most want this year, health and happiness. In life, there is no gift we need more than that. I’ll close with a loving kindness meditation poem and hope it brings you joy this Mother’s Day.

May you be safe.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you live with ease.

As always, feel free to reach out anytime. I love hearing about your journeys. You can contact me via email at laurakump@reclaiminghealth.blog, or on Instagram or Facebook.

Mother’s Day

I come from a long line of strong women.  My grandmothers Maria and Catherine were both strong, determined women who faced hardship in their lives.  They both modeled for me how to persevere and overcome obstacles with grace and dignity.  My mother was also a strong woman.  She was married in the 1950s at a time when most women did not work outside the home.  She was a stay at home mother to my two brothers and I and fully embraced her role as our caregiver.  Our house was always spotless and our life was pretty much stress free.  Mom found her true love when she was quite young and that has lasted over 60 years, in sickness and health.  She loved my dad more than anything and put him and us kids first every day of her life.

Maria & Ludwig
Else with my daughter Cathy

My brothers and I grew up loved and cared for even though we didn’t always have a lot.  We did always have dinner on our table and clothes on our backs.  We also always had unconditional love, as my mother put us first always.  Becoming a grandmother was the happiest time in my mother’s life.  I believe that is because my mother was a born nurturer.  She had endless patience with my children, probably more than she had with my brothers and I.  As long as they were able, my mom and dad made the trip out to my house every Sunday without fail to spend time with us and eat Sunday dinner.

Unfortunately, those days are gone now.  My mom suffers from Alzheimers and doesn’t know her own family anymore.  That is so hard for most people to even imagine or understand.  Many tell me that deep down she knows who I am.  I tell them she does not.  They tell me a mother’s heart could never forget.  I tell them it can.  At this point, she does not even know my dad, her husband of over 60 years, who sits with her every single day without fail.  I can’t think of a worse fate for my mother, who so loved her family, to suffer than this.  So, on this Mother’s Day I look back on the many wonderful memories of Mother’s Days gone by.  I can still see my mother and aunt cooking Roast Pork and potato balls in the kitchen, their tables perfectly set with china and crystal and  the house filled with kids and laughter.  These are the memories I hold tightly to these days.12A65D94-C375-4989-9400-F327E1F805D0

These days it’s just my family coming over for this holiday.  I know I’m supposed to celebrate and enjoy the day, but it is a hard day for me so we keep it simple and relaxing.  Today’s rainy weather was just perfect for this kind of low key day.  My daughter made it home first showing up before 8:00 this morning.  We went to an early yoga class together to prepare for our day.  Following that we came home and had a nice breakfast.  As we began to prepare for our Sunday sauce, my son arrived.  My other son was not able to come home this weekend and we missed him a lot.  We spoke with him on the phone and I’ll be going down by his house in a few weeks.  With the sauce simmering on the stove we all settled in to play some board games.  Today’s game choice was Scrabble since the rain kept us inside the house.

Today, we decided to have our traditional Sunday sauce (recipe can be found here Sunday Gravy).   Since I’m doing mostly plant based recipes these days, I decided to forgo the spaghetti for my plate.  I had two beautiful zucchinis that I purchased yesterday and pulled out my spiralizer and made some zoodles.  My daughter made a pot of spaghetti for anyone who wanted, but many ate the zoodles too.  They were delicious and worked perfectly with the sauce and meatballs.  I ate the zoodles raw, but you can certainly boil for a quick minute if you want them warmed.  I found the sauce warmed them up just enough for me.  Topped with parmesan, this was the perfect Mother’s Day meal.  Happy Mother’s Day!

Zoodles & Meatballs

Ingredients:

  • 2 large green zucchini (washed, not peeled)
  • salt

Directions:

  1. Cut ends off washed zucchini
  2. Place into the spiralizer and spiralize
  3. Catch zoodles in salad basket and place over sink to drain
  4. Sprinkle zoodles with salt and let sit for approximately 20 minutes.
  5. Store zoodles in the refrigerator in a covered container lined with paper towels. The zoodles will release additional moisture as they sit in the container in your fridge.  The paper towel will absorb the moisture.
  6. Let zoodles come to room temperature before serving, or boil for one minute.

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This is the spiralizer I use, Paderno World Cuisine