Happy Mother's Day

So like everything else Mother's Day is almost here and I was going to do this wonderful post about my mom. She so deserves one. But the time has come and almost gone. Dang it makes me mad how quickly time flies. But none the less I do want to take a few moments to remember a wonderful woman.

Mom was a great friend. She loved her kids. She never stopped trying to educate us. She would walk towards me armed with something she had just learned and wanted to share with me. I always knew this was a sit down moment that might take a while. But it was usually something that she was sure would make my life better or was of interest to me or her. She never did anything half way. If a job needed to be done it needed to be done well. Her life was just like that.

We didn't sleep in on the weekends. She woke us up on Saturday's at the crack of dawn to clean the yard. As a kid I hated that and wanted to be like all the other kids who watched cartoons. We didn't enjoy it when she cleaned with us. She could created piles faster then we could keep picked up. Kathy and I would just get that last pile raked and bagged up only to turn around and she had made 2 more piles for us to pick up. Our yard was always nice looking because of this. It was during those hours that we were taught all about gardening and keeping the dead flower heads pinched off. I learned about roses and how to care for them. Mom had lots of roses in her yard. Most if not all were in the backyard. I remember her telling me she loved Mr. Lincoln roses the best but the pink were very pretty as well.

She would plant bulbs of all sorts and it was always fun to see them sprout "their little heads up" and hear her talk to them as if they were her babies. It was while working in the yard that I learned that mom's favorite flowers were tulips. She loved tulips because her mother loved tulips. I love tulips because my mother loved tulips as well. When I see them it brings her back to me again.

I was taught how to make a bed correctly and how to fold sheets correctly. I was given that job until I learned how to do it and they looked nice in the closet. Something no one in my family has learned yet. We were taught how to clean bathrooms well and how to can fruit and tomatoes. I don't think I can count the number of times I had some type of juice running down my arms as we canned.

She showed me how colors work. I learned that there are blue or cold colors and yellow or warm colors. My mom always taught me to be aware of what colors I was wearing and what colors made my red hair pop. Although I wasn't much for my red hair when I was young. She told me how pretty I was and how she loved to hear me sing. I'm not so fond of my singing but it worked for her. Because I was the youngest and came along in her more advanced years I wasn't ever forces to take piano lessons or become part of the Girl Scouts. She use to tell me she was just tired and too old to make me do anything and I was always happy about that growing up. Now I wish I had been forces to do that because I see the wisdom in that.

Some of my favorite memories of Mom are her sitting down at the piano playing. She loved good music. She could rock the piano with the best. She loved jazz, classical, Ragtime and Broadway hits. She had a favorite song called Deep Purple. After dad died she would play that over and over again. Playing the piano was her source of comfort. She once told me she had been up during the night playing and crying. The words that came later to this song tell me why she played after dad died.

DEEP PURPLE

When the deep purple falls
over sleepy garden walls
and the stars begin to flicker in the sky
thru the mist of a memory
you wander back to me
breathing my name with a sigh.

In the still of the night
once again I hold you tight.
Tho' you're gone your love lives on when moonlight beams
and as long as my heart will beat,
lover, we'll always meet
here in my deep purple dreams.

- Mitchell Parish




I have so many wonderful memories of Mom that I could go on and on. She tried her hardest to be the best mother she could be. She truly wanted the best for all of her children. I am the person I am today because of my dear sweet mother. I have depth in my character and soul that she personally added. So many times in my life I hear her wisdom call to me and it has always been spot on. She was the perfect mother for me! Happy Mother's Day darling! I shall be thinking about you.