The End of an Era

Dave and I were in FL in April.  I told him the that mom would not make it much longer.  He was convinced she would but I could feel her spirit going. It was the first time I knew her will was coming to an end. She and I alike...we will "will" things to happen!  She knew that she could no longer live on her own and I was trying to work on alternatives. This whole process of going through her things that made her happy, secure.....like we all have, has been enlightening.  Ask yourself, who is going to clean your stuff out? What will they learn/understand about you?  Things that you value, know the history behind, will just be "stuff" to other people. But it was mom's "stuff", it gave her comfort and security.  It was an honor to get to see her from my age, experience and perspective.  Mom was a simple woman of faith, a complex woman of experiences.  Her house was a place of refuge.  You never left hungry, you never left without hearing about God, you never left if you needed a place to sleep.

So many memories....mom was born on a farm in GA.  They grew up with nothing.  Her mother watched her house, husband and baby burn down in an uncontrollable fire.  The family moved to FL, again to farm.  Mom had to quit school in the 8th grade...two reasons...her father died and girls were, at that time, not granted an education.  Your job was to marry and reproduce.  But she had a lucky star...her beautiful smile, the way she could talk to anyone and immediately make friends.  She had an independent, strong, resilient spirit. Even at the last, she challenged me, the one she trusted to make her decisions.

Mom had many chapters in her life, as we all do.  She made lemonade out of lemons. She would sit and have coffee with me when I was a child (BTW I haven't had coffee for years) and talk with me like a friend.  She and I are more alike than I want to admit.  And I am proud of that...at last!

She had a peach tree and pomegranate tree...these were the trees that were used for switches.  When the time for discipline came, we had to go out and pick our switch....it was part of the punishment.  Of course, I picked branches or little nothing's....and then I would have to go out again.  And I made her chase me around the house one time.....she did catch me. And I paid the price!

What else, grilling onions outside, tying Teresa's foot to the bed in the middle of the night, painting Mike's fingernails black, dipping Tim's hands in warm water in the middle of the night, jumping off the roof, thinking it was fun, sparklers to be lit for dates, waiting in our bedrooms on Christmas morning until we could come out, calling "good night" to everyone, holiday dinners around the "big table" in the dining room, the classic family dishes, football games in the front yard, walks in Wingfield after holiday with the niece and nephews, when Bob died I spent 2 weeks just letting her take care of me...I was 41 but I still needed "mom".  It has been a blessing that I can .....I could go on and on.
God bless you, Mom, we love you!