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Sowing the Seeds
8 Ways to Create a Perennial Mother-Daughter Relationship
By Kate Midden
All agree that it's tough to get angry when your hands are dirty, you've worked up a sweat and you're laughing at – and with – each other. Both mothers found gardening an excellent safe zone for discussing topics, including the birds and the bees.
Few things are better than cooking fresh vegetables from your garden, but don't despair if gardening isn't for you. Maya Shasteen of Valkaria, Fla., and her daughter, Kelsey, began a cooking experiment after 11-year-old Kelsey complained about boring dinners. Maya approached Kelsey about picking one night a week to plan, cook and prepare the meal of her choice. Kelsey was thrilled.
Maya had to bite her tongue as she watched Kelsey destroy the kitchen, cooking hamburgers, macaroni and cheese and corn, but when Kelsey's dad praised her to high heaven, Kelsey had a new mission. She searched the Internet and cookbooks for new meal ideas, becoming more daring with each Saturday that passed. Maya now helps with clean-up and cooking questions and vows Saturday afternoons are her favorite time of the week.
My daughter, Erin, knew how much I loved stained glass, so she spent several months of her allowance on my Christmas present – a stained glass class. I refused to go alone, so I enrolled her in the class with me. We struggled through our first projects together, but it was the beginning of a shared passion between us that has lasted for years. We bought tools, set up a workshop and spent coutless hours together making panels, stepping stones and other beautiful items. Any type of art or craft project – even dissimilar projects you work on in the same space – is a wonderful relationship building block.