Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials. - Meryl Streep

Today my older daughter brought over an old mermaid costume that had been sitting, untouched, in her "dress-up" drawer for months.  It was torn to pieces, and she asked me to fix it, so she could wear it again.  I looked at her in silence for several reasons:

1. She could not have chosen a worse time to ask me to find the sewing machine, recall how to use it, and repair her costume.

2. I know the basics of using a sewing machine, but I've never attempted to repair a polyester costume that is virtually torn to shreds.

A mother-daughter moment captured by the talented photographer, Caroline Tran

For some reason, this very short exchange led me to think about all the things my grandmother and mother are able to do, and I am not.  What happened along the way?  Can you imagine if we were able to retain all the skills our parents had and couple that with our current education level and tech savvy - we'd be super-parents.  I'm picturing myself cooking up some old family recipe after sewing matching outfits for my girls, and facebooking and tweeting photos along the way.

Since Mother's Day is fast-approaching, I keep thinking of all the things I wish I could do like my mom.  Yes, there are many things I try my best to do differently, but there are those general skills,  recipes, and nuggets of know-how, that I hope to someday learn/acquire and be able to pass on to my own daughters.  For now, as I try and develop this elusive skill-set, thank goodness for Google, DIY blogs, and YouTube!  I just had to quote Meryl Streep, because every day is really about the essentials.