Last week I showed you my Spirit Tray.
This week I have assembled a tray to remember and honor my mom.
When I do this I feel her sweet & creative presence around me.
Anne (“with an E”) Margaret Coulier (pronounced cool-yea) was born in Utrecht, Holland. She came to the US on a large ship when she was young.
Second from the left, mom stands with her family: sister Lucille, dad Carl, cousin Shirley, and little Richie.
Wedding suit mom made for herself
She learned how to sew as a teen and made all her clothes. When I was 12 she taught me how to sew and I am forever grateful.
(This beautiful story is in my memoir, Chapter 5, page 25).
The polka dots on Mom’s tray are because one Easter my Mom made 3 look-alike dresses for herself, me and my grandma. White background with big brown dots, and of course, matching gloves. Those were the “Father Knows Best” days.
Our family grew up in Grand Rapids Michigan. We spent every summer camping, mostly on the white sandy beaches of lake Michigan but often summer trips to Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida.
The bottom-left picture on the tray was mom & dad standing in a field of blue-bells (…and dressed alike, as they often did, can you believe?!!!)
Top left is a saying that reminds me of my mom.
“Being an Artist is like being yourself for a living”
We were a middle-class family with not a lot of extra money. Mom had the talent of making everything beautiful from found objects to fabric and nature items (buttons, doilies, stones, branches, etc.) Simple arrangements that made the life around us even more lovely.
The picture in the middle is Mom and Dad “smooching” in a Mexican sunset. They lived in Guadalajara, Mexico for several years. Dad was the adventurer in the family and Mom made the experience even more interesting with her special touch.
Recently I found my moms warn wallet that she used for many years. In one of the pockets was a $2 bill. I was thrilled to find it because she had hidden it many years ago, and I just found it. Sort of a “I’m still here” kind of experience.
The jewelry I assembled are pieces that I still wear. Neither of us are/were much on glitter or glam but Mom’s essence is in each of these pieces.
The gathering of these items is a ceremony in itself.
The tray will be here for a while then I will put things away and start assembling items for my Father’s Day tray.
Love you Mom.
