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Janet Gibson Uffinger, Editor of NEXT!

It’s one of those mother-daughter moments that I’ll never forget.

Mama and I are resting side-by-side on our backs, in her sturdy bed. Simultaneously, we look down at our swollen ankles.

“Mama, my feet hurt!” I whine like a child.

“Me, too, honey!” Mama responds in her cute German accent.

And then we don’t say a word.

We don’t need to.

Sometimes it’s enough just being together.

We’re both “schlumping” around, as Mama would say, on a recent Saturday afternoon.

My 47th birthday had been the day before, and Mama turned 80 just a few weeks earlier. So Mama had planned a big day. We’d go looking at geraniums for my home windowboxes, and she insisted on taking me out to lunch.

But truth be told, we are too tired for both. Deadlines had kept me at the office late, and Mama had been spending too many hours (as usual) tending to her precious flowers and the massive vegetable and fruit garden where six adopted cats now happily scurry about.

For two determined women who always have a dozen projects going at once, it’s sometimes hard to admit that, on this day, we felt, well, lazy.

“Mama, I just want to stay home with you.”

And we both let out a sigh of relief.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about mothers and how they have a profound effect on our lives.

For this issue of NEXT!, I had the privilege of interviewing several women, all with inspiring stories, in honor of Mother’s Day on May 14.

I was in awe over the many similarities between my own mother and siblings and Nettie Toomer Council and her four daughters. There’s a bond that cannot be broken, a commitment to faith, caring for others, hard work and lifelong learning.

Indeed, it’s the simple things we’ll remember and cherish the most, isn’t it?

The warm cocoon of home. A slice of German bread and cheese on a Saturday afternoon. A strong cup of coffee. Laughter and conversation.

Because, you see, no matter how old we get, sometimes we just want to run home to Mama.

•••

There will be a lot of stories told, and many memories made, at the third NEXT! Magazine Senior Expo.

I’d like to extend an invitation for all baby boomers and seniors to come on out to Holiday Inn Bordeaux from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 4.

It’s free fun, entertainment and prize giveaways, too. For more details, please click here (pdf), and here.

We hope to see you there!