My Mom

With mother's day tomorrow, I've naturally been thinking about Mom.  At Mom's funeral, Tiffany and Angie shared the podium as they represented the feelings of all the grandchildren.  I remember how what they shared captured the very essence of Mom's personality.  Here are excerpts from their message.

As all the grandkids sat around last night talking about Grandma and what we remember most about her, we came to the consensus that she was our #1 supporter and fan.  There are certain things that will always remind us of Grandma.

Her Chair:  All the things grandma loved most could be done out of her chair--she could talk on the phone, read, knit, cross stitch, and we even called it her thinking chair.  We used to joke that grandma would go anywhere if her chair could come.  Just this past summer when our family took a trip to the beachhouse it was hard for grandma to leave her chair, but it didn't take her long to find a replacement that overlooked the ocean.  She could find her chair anywhere.

Her Swing:  Some of our most fond memories at grandma's house are on the porch swing.  Her swing is the primary start of many endless conversations with her.  The conversations ranged from the landing of man on the moon when we were younger, to our latest boyfriends and dates in most recent years.  We spent many hours out on that swing looking at the stars and just enjoying her and grandpa's company.

Her beach attire:  No beach house trip would be complete without grandma's beach attire.  The blue and white polka dot pants and the big straw hat gave us all great enjoyment, and something to joke about with Grandma.

Her roast dinner, cottage cheese salad, and ice cream:  A trip to grandmas house just would not be the same without roast dinner, cottage cheese salad, and ice cream for desert.  of course the roast was very well done, or should we say charred . .  We never went away from grandma's house hungry.

Her phone:  This one can be summed up in one word . . . . busy!

The grapevine:  This goes hand in hand with her phone.  If you ever wanted to know what was going on with anyone in the family, or in the world for that matter, you would just call grandma.  The grandkids would always comment that we "heard it through the grapevine."  We would often like to think that we were her biggest source of gossip.  Jennie commented that grandma knew about her engagement before she herself even did. 

Her tough talk:  Grandma had a way of letting everyone know who was in charge.  If you picked a fight with one of her grandkids you picked a fight with her.  Under all circumstances the grandchildren were right, even if it meant opposing her children.  I often found myself threatening my mom with the words, "I'm going to tell grandma."  She always seemed to be on the side of the female, and taught us to stick up for ourselves.

Her laughter:  This is one of the most memorable things about grandma.  She would get laughing so hard, as she was slapping her leg, tears would stream down her cheeks.  She would laugh even when she couldn't hear one word that was being said.  You could definitely leave it up to Uncle Richard and Uncle Tom to get her laughing.  They had a special way of teasing her that would sent her into fits.

Her sympathy:  We'd always come to Grandma if we needed sympathy.  By the way we over exaggerated to grandma she probably thought we had no friends, money, or social life.  But she always boosted our self-esteem and showed us that in her eyes we were perfect.

Her concern:  Grandma was a very selfless person.  Even when she was in the hospital, her first concern was how you were doing.   Whenever we needed someone to talk to, grandma would always be there to listen and understand.  We always felt safe and secure at grandma's house because she was always taking care of our needs.

These are only a few of the many things that remind us of grandma.  She will be a continual influence and source of love in our lives.  The memories of her will last forever.  We love you Grandma.

I have pictures of her chair, swing, and polka dot outfit.  I also have plenty of pictures of us sitting around her dinner table.  But what can't be captured in pictures, but are captured in this tribute, are those characteristics that are not tangible.  They are what made Mom who she was.  And what made us always feel loved.  Thank you, Mom.