Skip to main content

Memories of Mom



I guess I'm like any daughter who, while enjoying an old photo album, finds that one sexy pose of her mom and shouts:  "Way to go, Mamma!

I found this photo and I loved it!  I wondered:  "What was on her mind during this pose?"  "Was she thinking of my dad?"  Or was she competing with girlfriends who strived to pose the most like a movie star--Ginger Rogers or Bette Davis?  I will never know.    It feels strange to see it.  It seems out of character for her.  My mom was anything but a super model; she was more in the "tomboy" category!

She had high morals.  I remember as a preschooler, bundled in a heavy winter coat, scarf, mittens, knit hat with a long braid on top, holding her hand as we walked in the snow to Gray's, the corner drug store.  Mom found a Playboy magazine on the shelf.  She pulled out her church badge and marched to the cash register and then asked to speak to Mrs. Gray.  The elderly woman listened to my mother share disappointment.  "We are hard working parents who raise our children with good values.  Can you remove this magazine?"  Mrs. Gray removed it!  Mom was an activist.

Mom's greatest strength was Faith in God.  She was never ashamed to share her love for God.  She modeled a life of prayer.

Her strongest personality trait, a sense of humor, still has me in stitches when certain memories arise.  I could never anticipate her responses.  I liked having a mom who fearlessly joked with strangers in public.  I learned from my mother how humor repels tension.

I inherited my mother's weakness, her impatience.  My favorite story is about the time she sent me a package from Chicago and could not comprehend its delay.  I told her my little Arizona town is far from the sophisticated post offices in Chicago.  Life is slower here!  She phoned the postmaster of our little two-bit town and argued with her to my horror.  It's funny now, but at the time I felt embarrassed the day I retrieved my mail from my post box and heard Toni, our postmaster scream:  "Mary, your mother called.  Seems we don't process your packages fast enough."  I apologized for my mom and spun the fact we should give her a pass since she was in her 90's and all.  Then the postmaster cracked up.  "We're fine!  It's okay.  We ended up friends.  She's funny!"  After that, I always got my packages in a special locker.  A bonus for me, I always say: "Mom took on the United States Post Office and won!"  Still, I wish my mom behaved better.

That's a snapshot of my mother's character.  I could write a book!

Happy Mother's Day in Heaven, Mom, from your daughter who looks like you.  Thank you for being my mom. 

Comments

  1. Mevely317May 10, 2025 at 3:35 PM

    You really do resemble your mom, Mary! Just based this delightful snapshot (*giggling*), I wish you would write that book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BrendaMay 20, 2025 at 2:31 AM

    Aww, this is a lovely story, and your mum seems a perfect mother for you to have had.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bergen Furniture And DesignJuly 3, 2025 at 4:25 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Urgent reservationsSeptember 4, 2025 at 1:13 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Daisy House

I work at my desktop with the children at my feet.  A makeshift area rug made of white butcher paper lines the floor where the baby, crayon in hand, imitates her big sister.  Sister focuses on the finishing touches of the house she designed.  The catchy children’s song, Wheels of the Bus, blasts from the Toddler Station on Pandora Radio. Six year old Sookie unveils her masterpiece and I ooh and awe at the sketch.  “It’s a daisy house!”  I exclaim.  “I love the colors.  I wonder what the inside looks like.”  Without hesitating, Sookie describes each room.  “There are five rooms and they are all different colors.  One is Mint Chip, another Strawberry.  There is a Vanilla room, and a Cookies & Cream room and the last room is Rocky Road.  You have to wear a sweater inside because it is very cold.” “A house made of ice cream,” I reply.  “It sounds heavenly!” I dug into my Bible readings that morning ...
37 comments
Read more

A Memorial Day Reflection

  Memorial Day is always noteworthy for me and my girls.  Next Thursday marks the third year of missing their father, my husband. So many thoughts  run through my mind.  The journey of loss takes on various emotions.  The strongest feeling, at first, was emptiness.  In a split second, I would forget he departed forever.  I imagined things I needed to talk to him about when he got back home.  My mind is realistic now.  He's not coming back.  There will be no more times of sitting on the porch swing together on the front deck staring at the moon and the stars.  He would tell me all he knew about the majestic night sky. I have so much I wish I could tell him, like the excitement of seeing our oldest grandchild make a decision to follow Jesus and get baptized on Mother's Day!  And our little Amy, 11 years old, I wish he could have seen her on stage receiving her induction to the National Honor Society. Our daughters have their own ...
23 comments
Read more

The Final Chapter

Are you like me when you join a new group of people? Do you navigate the crowd wondering where you fit in the best?  I felt insecure when I joined Word Weavers, a Christian writing group in our town.  Liz and Tony welcomed me with their accepting smiles.  It meant a lot. I sat with Liz in a small critique group one week.  I leaned in close so we could share a writer’s paper together.  She mentioned she would passively kick back and listen because she felt sick that day.  Tony kept his eye on her walking over with a plate of cookies and a hug for his wife.  But Liz did not eat. Last week, Liz passed away.  I attended the memorial service where I learned that Liz was a dreamer and fought for her dreams up to the very end!  Liz’s dream, her third book Jamie , came true.  The publisher approved her manuscript and moved heaven and earth to get the story printed in book form and delivered to Liz.  ...
50 comments
Read more