love you more yet, child,
knowing so well what you are
ahead and beyond

Adapted from:

“I love you,”
said a great mother.
“I love you for what you are
knowing so well what you are.
And I love you more yet, child,
deeper yet than ever, child,
for what you are going to be,
knowing so well you are going far,
knowing your great works are ahead,
ahead and beyond,
yonder and far over yet.”

Written by Carl Sandburg and published in The People, Yes! (New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1936).

The preface to The People, Yes! states, “Being several stories and psalms nobody would want to laugh at …”

Wikipedia says, “Published at the height of the Great Depression, the work lauds the perseverance of the American people in notably plain-spoken language. It was written over an eight-year period. It is Sandburg’s last major book of poetry.”

The perseverance of the American people.

Today is Mother’s Day, 2024.

My Mom was born in 1924.

For the last 100 years her presence, personality and memory has persevered.

There is a joke about Dutch people, Dutch Calvinists to be more specific, that they were worried that somewhere, someone was having a good time.

That wasn’t my Mom.

If anything, she was concerned that somewhere, someone was having a goodtime and she wasn’t a part of it.

My brother Paul had relocated to North Carolina and would drive his family up through the mountains of West Virginia to Michigan for the Christmas / New Years holidays.

(Now that I live in South Carolina, and make that trip I am more amazed at my brother’s efforts.)

One year it worked out that they couldn’t make it and my Mom and Dad and my two youngest brothers made the trip down there.

I had to stay in Michigan and I called one of my sisters and we decided to arrange a New Years Eve family get together anyway.

That night the phone rang and it was Mom calling to wish me a Happy New Year.

I thanked her and told that we very having a party anyway and everyone was over.

There was a pause.

Then Mom says, “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” then a pause, “I wish we were there.“

She always loved a family party and did not like missing a good time.

As she got older, her love of a good time persevered through any bad time.

She focused herself on the good things and the good news and happy people.

I remember one time when I had driven her to the local grocery super store in West Michigan called Meijer’s (we called it Meijer’s as it was Fred’s store and everyone knew Fred) and as we did her shopping she watched the crowd.

Anytime she spotted any two or more people in a bunch talking and laughing she would say out loud, “Oh, they look they are having a good time.“

And she would quickly turn and move in their direction to see if she might fit into the group or at least find out what made them all laugh.

That she was pushing her grocery cart through the aisles just made these sudden direction changes all the more exciting.

She had a big heart.

And she had a perseverance that deserves to be lauded.

I never heard her read or recite this poem by Mr. Sandburg.

But I felt it.

But I knew it.

what tastes like childhood?
what tastes like being back home?
Wilhelmina’s do!

My wife came back from the store and said, “I got you something.”

And handed me a box of Wilhelmina Mints with that wonderful line, Royal Quality Since 1892.

Sure sure everyone can name, King Charles III and his Mom, Elizabeth II but you’re not Dutch if you can’t rattle off Willem, Trixie, Julianna and Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

And if you can’t name those folks, you might not know about these mints.

According to their website, “The Wilhelmina peppermint was developed in 1892 by the company Fortuin.”

The first ones were given to the then 12 year old Wilhelmina, Princess of the Netherlands.

As big around as a quarter and as thick as two quarters stacked.

Not the bite of a Altoid , but a smooth, cool almost soft buttery mint flavor.

The mint itself was not smooth or glassy like a Lifesavor, but rough, almost sandy.

They dissolve slowly into little bits of mint flavor.

With a little luck and effort, you could make one last an entire church sermon.

Wilhelmina’s were carried by my Grandma (along with those big pink mints and black licorice) and if I was acting up, a mint would be offered.

Anyone call tell you that this is rewarding and encouraging bad behavior.

And it did.

But to make it last as long as possible I had to sit still AND keep my mouth shut.

There was a method to this madness.

Now it is hot and steamy in the low country of South Carolina.

And over a half century away from my Grandma.

But on my desk is a blue and white box of childhood.

Product of the Netherlands it says on the box.

So am I.

According to Uit Wikipedia, de vrije encyclopedie

Wilhelmina pepermunt is een in Nederland bekende soort pepermunt die wordt gemaakt door Fortuin.

Op ieder pepermuntje staat de afbeelding van prinses Wilhelmina. Deze pepermunt werd in 1892 ontwikkeld en was een eerbetoon aan de prinses, die dat jaar twaalf werd. Het nieuwe product werd ontwikkeld wegens het 50-jarige bestaan van de fabrikant.

De pepermuntjes worden verkocht als rol, in een zakje, schuifdoosje en in blik.

Ook is er een ‘zwart wit’-variant verkrijgbaar op de markt.

Could not have said it better myself!