Mom

Mother's Day is tomorrow so I'm thinking extra about my mom right now. I think about her all the time, and talk to her several times a week - but this morning she's just a bit more on my mind.
The other day she told me she fell down and apparently has a black eye and sore ribs. She hadn't gone to the doctor, so I convinced her she should. She's fine, but her blood pressure and sugar were both low so they are adjusting some medications. She told me I worry too much about her.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and that apple has continued it's path beyond me to my kids, who also worry more than they should.
Back to Mom. She's awesome.
My mom is so kind and so funny. She does the silliest things sometimes. She sees people or animals  in her Cheetos and takes pictures of them! Not just a dog or a person, but intricate relationships appear in her Cheetos. She'll see a man and woman holding hands, a woman rocking a baby, two children playing or a person walking a dog. Sometimes she mails these Cheeple to my kids, who truly appreciate this quirky little habit of their Grandma Rose. We were all really disappointed when we realized we'd missed out on the contest Cheetos had, because we know Mom would have won.

Mom often takes pictures of the deer that hang out in her yard. She takes pictures of the night sky, rainbows, dust storms and pictures. Yes, sometimes she takes pictures of pictures. Mom notices things the rest of us miss and she photographs them to share with us. I love this about her.

Mom also takes a lot of pictures of the people she loves and she prints them out for anyone who wants a copy. This particular hobby is extremely sweet and shows her generosity, as ink and paper aren't free but she keeps a supply at all times.

Several times mom has gone through her old photos and made copies of the ones of people she went to school with, to send to their children.

Mom and her sisters used to go on a "sister trip" every fall. Of course there were lots of pictures taken and once mom had made copies for everyone she would often create collages. She would spend hours cutting out and gluing and then getting copies of the collages for us. I was recently given one, which I'm taking a picture of to show you!

My mom had 5 children; Brad, Joan, Carol, Nancy (me) and Joel. She raised us well and taught us to be kind and decent. She's shown us to be strong and thoughtful. We all know a lot of things about our mom - we know about her Cheetos, her picture taking, her sometimes naughty sense of humor. We know the stories of her childhood and we know how much she means to us.

There are things we don't know. We don't know what it's like to be 85 years old and living alone. We don't know how it feels to lose a child, a grandchild, or a spouse. Mom has been through a lot in her life. When she was just 12 years old her dad died and only 6 years later she lost her mom. In the summer of 1973 she lost her son and grandson in a horrific accident caused by a drunk driver. In 1986 when she was only 54 years old she lost our dad suddenly to a massive coronary. Mom's brothers both died in the early 1980s and in the past 4 years she has lost 2 sisters, leaving only one. The sister trips have now changed to Mom visiting Aunt Sunny in Tacoma. She looks forward to these trips and they have a great time together, although I know they are missing Aunt Marie and Aunt Elene.

As I sit here thinking about Mom I just feel so grateful. I'm grateful that I don't understand what it's like to lose a mother and I pray I won't for many years to come. I feel lucky and happy and very amused at the things my mom says and does. She is truly the best and I love her so much that I look forward to her reading me the television schedule when there's not much else to say.

Happy Mother's Day Mom. I love you.