My Mom would be 98 today...if she were here to celebrate...after living with us for 6 months, she left quietly...memorably on Thanksgiving Day in home hospice just after dinner. She had a flair for the dramatic and a BIG personality...leaving on a holiday we think was her memorable choice. This is one of my favorite pictures of my parents and how my mind's eye sees them. Not quite 5' tall...her energy was boundless for most of her life. Sometimes as people age, the part of the brain that tells you to eat...shuts down...and as a result of course, things like balance are not maintained...and why she came to live with us...eating was "required"....per her physician...whatever she wanted and as much as she would eat. Meals were by request...and always whatever snack she wanted well within her reach. Breakfasts of yogurt and bacon and an occasional egg.
Summer had peaked her appetite for corn on the cob. David went to a farmer's stand every day and that was her favorite lunch with whatever else we could coax her to eat.
We have lots of wonderful memories of her stay with us....and our life with her. David's Mom was taken from him early in his life..he had "our" Mom much longer than his own and they couldn't have loved each other more than they did.,
One of my favorite stories about her was she was visiting in California and waiting for someone to return to the table with coffee. My Mother would talk to anyone and everyone...we always said if she took a bus to downtown Milwaukee, she would know everyone on it before she got off. She was making "small talk"...though small was not her best thing...with a man at the next table. "What did you do for a living?" he asked her..."I was a teacher and a Mother," she replied. The man looked at her thoughtfully...."Those are two of the most noble jobs there are," he commented. She politely asked him the same question..."I am a producer/director." was his response and he left the coffee shop just as her coffee was being served.
The Server queried my Mom..."Do you know who that was?" sheasked. "Oh some man who says he is a producer/director...and everyone says that in California." The Server smiled...."It was Steven Spielberg." Phone home never had quite the same meaning after that...AND we bet that Mr. S. took some joy in having a "regular" conversation with someone who did not recognize him.
Writing is an outlet for me...and comforting in many ways.,..today I am sorry for her loss in our lives and comforted by the many wonderful memories she has left us for a lifetime...She always said..."The good you learn at Mother's knee...the bad at other joints." Soooo True...Thank you Mom...we try hard to make you proud of us every day and hold you in our hearts forever. Sally, David, Magic and the kitty who became your nurse and fur-ever pal, Dini.
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