Driving force in my life
I always open comments about my mother by saying she is without a doubt the most nonjudgemental person I know. That does not mean she was unable to let me know how to act.
I was loved from the day I was born. I’ve enjoyed being supported by a strong woman who also spent most of her life as a wife, housekeeper, mother, grandmother, and now great and great great grandmother.
Her days are at an end. I worry that because of time and distance, my son will never truly know her warm heart and giving nature.
Her many skills
For most of her life I have slept under handmade quilts of her design, created by her talents. I’ve attempted to make my own quilt and found that this skill is time consuming and requires an attention to detail, I’m not certain I have the patience to master. I did finish one quilt top, but paid a professional quilter to assemble to final product.
At my mother’s home, I walked on braided wool rugs of her making. After my father retired she took classes to perfect her technique. I grew up with her rugs from a young age, but her product improved with time.
She taught me to cook. Teaching me to bake a chocolate cake when I was still very young. But the essentials of cooking, baking, simmering, sauteing, braising were all learned from her directions. While in High School she taught me how to mix and fry doughnuts. In short she helped me become independent.
My mother was a housekeeper, cook, instructor, when need be a disciplinarian, mentor, friend and so much more. She taught me right from wrong and urged me to always put others before myself. My mother did this by example, by always putting our needs before her own.
She was a seamstress who made clothes for herself and her children. While she seldom had a out of home job while I was growing up. My mother contributed as much or more than my father to the household bottom line through her skills and hard work. There can be no doubt she was a great lady.
Later in life she took up painting. While her works of art may never adorn the walls of a museum, they are priceless to those of us who have been blessed with them.
I will always treasure my mother’s accomplishments.
And at 99 she passed
My mother no longer sews, paints, braids rugs, or cooks. In the end, She slept most of the time, waking up late, naps in the afternoon, and going to bed early. She had a good appetite. But it was difficult to carry on a conversation. She used hearing aids, but didn’t always understand what was said.
One of my main reasons for retiring was so I can spend more time with her. She remembered what was planned, if she was reminded every day for a couple of weeks. She took life at her pace and those around her allowed her to do that, for there was no other way.
And every now and then she provided a pearl of wisdom. An insight into what was and how things were when. For me those moments were worth everything.
The Sunday before she passed was her 99th birthday. We celebrated outside with a small gathering of extended family on Saturday. She was there that day and enjoyed her nieces, nephews, children and grand children. It was a good day.
I left for my home on Sunday. That morning I had the best conversation I had the entire 2 weeks I was with her. On Tuesday she was taken to the hospital via ambulance and on Friday, she passed.
It was life lived well
She loved those she was around and that love was returned 10 fold by those around her. She will be missed.
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