Share Your Life With Me
About twelve years ago, I gave my mom one of those books that asks questions about her past each day of the year, and asked her to take her time writing in it. I am so very glad that I did that, as even though she didn’t answer all three hundred sixty-five questions, it has turned out to be a wonderful treasure trove of information about my mother and our family history. For the past few days I have been experiencing ripples of grief, missing her a lot lately, and decided I knew a good way to feel close to her.
I pulled the book out of Mom’s chest-of-drawers and began to read. Seeing her distinctive handwriting, I could hear her voice reading the entries to me. I hadn’t read through the whole book yet- I just haven’t been able to..but today it called to me, and I alternately laughed and teared up as her humor and her spirit came through loud and clear. Some of the things I already knew, but many things were revelations and touched me deeply. Here are some of the things she shared:
Her entry into the world had a little hiccup…
She he was a daddy’s girl, and they had special nicknames for each other…
She usually got away with murder because she was the baby, and because of being badly burned by lye water as a toddler…
St. Patty’s Day could be dangerous…:))
She he was once a young girl with a wild side…
But not TOO wild…
Sundays were Fun-Days…
You should always listen to your mother…
She gave good advice to me…
She always loved romance….and (at the top), never regretted having a surprise baby at 41….(whew!)
Romance- wow WOW!
…maybe I know which cooking gene I got…
With thy each entry, my smile grew bigger, my heart more full. I could see her so clearly sitting in her lift chair with me at her feet, recounting these memories to me, her giggles punctuating the funny stories, and sometimes tears with memories that were more difficult. What did I learn? I learned that my mother was a wonderfully alive human being who appreciated and rejoiced in life- all of it. She handled challenges with grace and always showed kindness to others. She was imperfect, she was perfect. I would not have changed a thing about her. Thank you for the memories, Heavy D.
The View from Here 