Patty asked me what I loved about my mother, so I'm thinking about an answer to post. Feel free to post any thoughts about yours. And Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, living or not.

 

This is a fave pic of her I have posted before. I have it right here on the wall by my computer screen. It was taken not long before she died. Still beautiful...

 

Mom's been gone almost two years now. I will never smell lilacs without thinking of her. They were her favorite. For Mother's Day I got each of my sisters (4) and my sister in law a gift in honor of Mom. My Mom used to crochet the tops of dishtowels to be hung on the handle of your stove. As she got older she "retired" as her hands had arthritis and then her memory was failing, but all of us still have one or two of these towels around. One of my photo friends is also a crafty person and she makes these to sell at craft shows. I ordered four of them with a twist. She could not find towels with lilacs on them, so she ordered fabric with lilacs on it and sewed a strip on the towels. They came out great. Hopefully, my sisters think of Mom when they open them. One sister (VA) has opened hers already. I passed along the package to SC sister and when VA sister brought it home she had torn the wrapping. She could not resist and opened it. She loved. it. I'll try to add a pic in a bit. Here we go...and she adds little fancy buttons......

 

Here's a 1941 photo of me mom & dad. They were always 'snappy dressers' throughout their entire lives and could never figure out what went wrong with me. And, here's a photo of mom before she passed away in 2006... and even then she only had a couple strands of grey hair. Very likely because I never gave her any reason to worry.

 

Happy Mothers Day to all Moms and Grandmoms on here. I miss mine, gone over 8 years.

 

Mother's stone at Arlington Cemetery really conveys her as a person:

Always Gracious
Ever Caring
A Great Lady

She was from North Carolina and had that genteel demeanor associated with southern ladies. As a military wife, she had to move every three years or so and find and make a home for my dad and us (three kids). She always did it so beautifully. Home was a comforting and warm place to be. She went about things in her own quiet way. When she was at the rehab place the last year of her life, one of the characteristics the staff always used to describe her was strong. They were amazed that someone her age could persevere as she did, even with the obstacles she was facing toward the end. And she had dealt with severe back pain for quite a few years before she died, but you would never have known it. The Great Lady part of the inscription actually came from a staff member at the rehab place. The people there just loved her. I became much closer to her during the latter years of my father's life, then hers, when I was assisting both of them in various ways. It was a privilege to be able to help both my parents when they needed it most and I'm very happy that I was in the area. I certainly did not look at it as a burden. To me it was returning the care they gave me all those years growing up. There is certainly a void in my life now without her. My dad died in 2011 and she remained in the house for three years until she fell and broke her hip. And did very well on her own those three years. The last year I was with her every day. I would not trade those days for anything.

 

^So sweet, Deb.

 

 

ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, too funny

 

Mom was a snowbird who finally "landed" in upstate New York for high school. She met my dad, they fell in love and eloped to Royal Oak, Michigan, where they were able to obtain a marriage license without needing their parents' consent. (Mom was 18 and Dad was 19. This June, my sibs and I plan to visit Mom and Dad in Delaware for their 70th anniversary.

Dad worked his tail off to keep food on the table, a roof overhead, and the wolf from the door. But Mom was the glue, the emotional mainstay of our family. Happy Mothers' Day, Mrs Young, and to all the other wonderful moms out there.