Happy Mother’s Day From Prospector Ranch!

~ Natalia Radcliffe ~

Mother’s Day. A time to honor the mothers and/or mother figures in our lives. It’s a day of celebration and appreciation for all the moms out there. 

As a child, Meggan was raised in Iowa on the values of giving back by her mom, and her father’s mother, Meggan’s grandmother. Throughout her childhood, she and her seven siblings spent time volunteering and helping others in their communities, both with their grandmother and mother. 

Meggan remembers visiting a home for people with disabilities where her grandmother volunteered, or assisting her grandmother carry jugs of water to an elderly lady who had no electricity who lived near her childhood home.

With her mother, Meggan remembers helping her pack clothes for people who lived in the Appalachian Mountains where her mother would drive to deliver the clothing to the less fortunate.

Her childhood was filled with lessons of giving and being a good Samaritan to others. When Meggan became a mom herself, she wanted to continue those values her mom and grandmother instilled in her, planting the seeds of giving in her children. 

One big thing she did with her children was visit The Motion Picture Home, a retirement community in Woodland Hills for those who worked in the entertainment industry. There was one woman there, Mimi, who was originally from France, that they all but adopted as their own grandmother. She was a seamstress, and worked on the clothes of many big stars back in the day. She was actually the one who made the aprons Julie Andrews wore in the Sound of Music! She also created clothes for Lucille Ball, an actress in the 1960s and 1970s. Her daughter Lucy Arnaz asked her to make her wedding dress. Mimi was also friends with Red Skelton, a comedian best known for his radio and television shows in the late 1930s through the 1970s. When Meggan and her family met Mimi, she had no family left at all. She was all alone in the world. That is no way to spend the remaining years of your life. So, Meggan and her family adopted her. She and her boys, at the end of every visit, would always say, “bye Mimi, we love you!” 

In addition to the Motion Picture home, Meggan involved her boys in volunteer work in Mexico, Ecuador, the Thai/ Burma border and Uganda, when she became involved with Mercy Childcare. Her children experienced things not many do. 

Imagine: rescuing a baby from an unimaginable, terrible situation. 

She likes to hope that she has planted the seeds of giving in her boys, as they have grown up to be kind, giving individuals themselves. One time while out running errands, her son Colin brought a homeless woman back to their house. On the one hand, Meggan’s reaction was surprise at her son bringing home someone she didn’t know at all, but on the other hand, she was happy at seeing him trying to be a good Samaritan and helping a stranger in need. 

Meggan and her two sons volunteering at an orphanage in Uganda. Photo courtesy of Meggan Kimberley.

As her dad died when she was young, Meggan grew up in the home of a single mother with seven siblings. As a child, she couldn’t fathom what her mother must have been going through. Imagine: losing your husband, and having to raise eight kids, from 20 to 6 years old, by yourself. It would be hard on anyone. But, her mother had strong faith in God, and a strong spirit. Every day she would get up and put a smile on her face for her kids, and attack the day with vigor. It wasn’t until Meggan became a mother herself that she realized why God gave her the mother that she had. When her boys were still kids, she went through a painful divorce. It was hard to be positive and get through the day with an optimistic outlook. She remembered having an epiphany, one day. Having watched her own mother handle the challenges and heartaches in life actually prepared her in her own life as well, giving her the necessary tools to handle difficult and heartbreaking challenges. The Bible says that God has a plan, and a reason for the things that happen in our lives. And Meggan saw the effects of God’s  plan, decades later, as things came full circle. 

The relationship between a mother and child, and the lasting memories and bond, is a precious blessing. In this week leading up to Mother’s Day, all of us at Prospector Ranch want to express our appreciation for all the mothers and mother figures in our lives. We would not be who we are without them. 

For all the mothers or mother figures out there, we hope you have a lovely Mother’s Day surrounded by those you love. You are appreciated more than you know.