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9:06:00 AM EDT
Feeling Quiet
MOURNING DOVE-3
I probably did this essay on my mother backwards, but I wanted to
end with telling about the great impact that my mother had upon my life,
not only with the things she did for me and the sacrificies she made for
her children, but also to celebrate her being the person she was. I realize
that most everyone loves their mothers and their memories, but my mother
had a profound effect on my life just by being who she was.
My mother was content to lead a simple life. She worked hard
alongside my father to raise her children. Her one desire for herself and
Dad was to have a big, two-story house, as she had always lived in small
cottages and apartments. Imagine our surprise when we attended an
outdoor auction in our town for the home and estate of a lady who had died.
We never knew Mom was even interested in the house until she started
bidding on it right out of the blue. After a hurried consultation with my Dad ,
she continued to bid until they got it at a very reasonable price. So, on her
birthday, she finally got the big, two-story house of her dreams, for which they
paid cash, I might add. They had saved for it for over forty years.
My mother was a complex person. She had many great attributes.
She had a strong moral sense and values that she passed on to us, not only
verbally but by example. She had a deep compassion for people who were
suffering setbacks or deprivation. When I was very young ,I can remember
hard times when she and her sister organized a community effort that they
called "Daughters of Dorcas", after a charitable woman in the Bible. They
worked very hard to help families in need who had fallen upon hard times.
They helped to provide them with food, clothing and shelter. My mother
had a strong work ethic and believed everyone should work if possibly able,
but she realized that many people need a helping hand at times in their lives.
She always kept a large supply of food and was always glad to share it. She
loved to feed people and cooked more than was necessary in case someone
dropped in. She would beam when she had her family and guests around her
table. On holidays, she did not want to be taken out to eat, she wanted her
family to come home and let her cook for them. She took pride in her cooking
and loved to recieve compliments on it. And she had an appreciative family.
My children would watch for the windows and glass storm door to "steam
up" because they knew Granny was cooking and soon the table would be
filled with her wonderful dishes.
Mom was very intelligent. She only had a high school education but
she could often beat her college graduated children and grand-children at
Jeopardy, her favorite show. Jeopardy was playing on the room television
when my first grandson was born, and my daughter has inherited many of
her grandmothers good qualities. Mom continued to watch Jeopardy and
Wheel of Fortune until the week she died. After she became an invalid,
television was the primary source of entertainment and church services.
She contributed faithfully to her favorite charities and churches. She
had a deep loyalty to American service men and veterans and contributed
to them. They had always been faithful church-goers and Mom went with
Dad every time he preached a sermon. They would sometimes go several times
a week even when there wasn't a revival going on. Then they would go nightly
until it ended. When they became too ill to attend, it was very difficult to
give up this church-going , so they often invited groups of singers and preachers
to come to their home for services. They loved people and ministered to many
from the confines of their home in later years. Their advice was relied upon by
many young Christians who sought it. Even the day she passed away in the
hospital, she was welcoming friends and consoling family . She had congestive
heart failure. My father also had an enlarged heart from Black Lung, but I like
to remember that they had such big, kind hearts for everyone they touched.
I do not mean to make them sound perfect. No one except our Lord has
ever been perfect. My mother was an outspoken person and I'm sure she
offended people at times with her candor. Most people grew to love that
trait in her because they could count on her to "tell it like it is" and she could
be very passionate in defending causes or people in whom she believed. She
often saw potential in someone that others might have difficulty seeing that
potential. If she believed in them , she would defend them to the end. Her
memorial service was a tribute to her life and a celebration of it. She was
a natural musician and loved to sing . She could play piano, organ and
accordian and never had a lesson. She played in church and at home
until her fingers got so stiff with arthritis. Then she continued to sing
with my Dad and they enjoyed their song sessions so much. We
were admonished to not have "sad sack" songs at her funeral because
she said it would be a joyous occasion to go to her eternal home. We
observed her wishes and had praise and worship music for her. During
the short prayer service at the mausoleum, my father was dazed with
grief but afterwards he kept asking where Mother was, and we kept
telling him that "Mother is in Heaven now, Daddy", but he replied,
"No, Mother was standing beside me all the time we were there" and
he was so convinced that I truly believe that as always, she was right
by his side. I have not grieved as much for her as I could have and
ordinarily would have, because she continues to live in my heart and
I can feel her loving presence around me . It gives me great comfort.
I feel humbled to know that I was blessed with such a wonderful mother
and father.
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You certainly were very blessed, and spoke it very eloquently. A very touching and beautiful tribute to your Mom. Thanks for sharing your memories with all of us.
Smiles, Leigh
http://journals.aol.com/mleighin21st/iwasthinking.../ -
What a wonderful tribute to your mom. Not everyone has been as blessed as you with dear loving parents. I'm glad she got the home she wanted . 'On Ya' - ma
5/14/08 10:38 AM
Beth
http://journals.aol.com/luvrt