So it has been a few months since I posted on my blog.
Kristen got engaged and is now married. Michelle received a new kidney and has been having a few issues but things are looking up. Robby and Brittany have come and gone home and are now on a cruise. Alyse's life is about ready to take off in a direction she never imagined. She has even experienced kidney stones as well. Mike is still going out to Ca. My sister Kathy officially went into remission from the cancer that has plagued her for over 3 or 4 years. I don't have a job anymore but is that really a bad thing? I couldn't have worked and done a wedding in 9 weeks. I have a job offer that should start in about 4 weeks. I have 2 applications still out so we shall see. Trent moved in with us and soon brought his cute little family with him. We were also blessed to have Marcia, Max and Cynthia come out for the wedding as well as Mike's mom. I learned that my parents house is being sold for the 2nd time and someone has completely over hall it! It doesn't look anything like it did when we left it. Who does that? Okay I know lots of people do!
So things have been a little crazy but it's all good stuff. I have learned a ton! I always known how many wonderful friends and family members we have but their love and help have put many !!!! at the end. I couldn't have done any of this without them. After the wedding I was very very tired! Mike and I took the opportunity to sneak away for the night to visit the coast at a bed and breakfast. We got off later then we had hoped so we missed the sunset on the beach. But it just mattered that we were together. We were sound asleep when the phone in the home rang about 1:30 am to which I said please don't let that be for us. It was! Alyse was having a kidney stone attack. But we were told to wait and not come home and they would see how things were going and keep us posted. So Mike would set his phone alarm and call ever hour or two. Kathy, Devin, Kristen and Lance took care of Alyse. We were determined to get some oysters so off to Panama City we went and we had a great time. The oysters were amazing as was the company. I love spending time with my one true love. I told Mike when I woke up that Saturday I'm not sure if I am tired or exhausted!
I did have a struggle when Kathy called me and told me Mom and Dad's house was up for sale. She went over and took some pictures. The house has changed and it made my heart so sad. Kind of like my home base was now gone as well as my parents. Even though they have been gone for years. Kathy told me she would go to the open house and feel the walls and take pictures for me but I am sure it just wont be the same. The house that built me has changed. I would still like to go visit at least one more time to the house at 16143 Camino Del Sol.
So here I sit today feeling so much better but still thinking about the old homestead. But all in all I am finally rested up and my legs have recovered from the standing and walking of the wedding and the drives all over Florida and Alabama. And I always realize that life keeps going on and that is a good thing.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Beauty and the Beast
(This classic Dave Barry column was originally published on Feb. 1, 1998.)
If you're a man, at some point a woman will ask you how she looks.
''How do I look?'' she'll ask.
You must be careful how you answer this question. The best technique is to form an honest yet sensitive opinion, then collapse on the floor with some kind of fatal seizure. Trust me, this is the easiest way out. Because you will never come up with the right answer.
The problem is that women generally do not think of their looks in the same way that men do. Most men form an opinion of how they look in seventh grade, and they stick to it for the rest of their lives. Some men form the opinion that they are irresistible stud muffins, and they do not change this opinion even when their faces sag and their noses bloat to the size of eggplants and their eyebrows grow together to form what appears to be a giant forehead-dwelling tropical caterpillar.
Most men, I believe, think of themselves as average-looking. Men will think this even if their faces cause heart failure in cattle at a range of 300 yards. Being average does not bother them; average is fine, for men. This is why men never ask anybody how they look. Their primary form of beauty care is to shave themselves, which is essentially the same form of beauty care that they give to their lawns.
If, at the end of his four-minute daily beauty regimen, a man has managed to wipe most of the shaving cream out of his hair and is not bleeding too badly, he feels that he has done all he can, so he stops thinking about his appearance and devotes his mind to more critical issues, such as the Super Bowl.
Women do not look at themselves this way. If I had to express, in three words, what I believe most women think about their appearance, those words would be: ''not good enough.'' No matter how attractive a woman may appear to be to others, when she looks at herself in the mirror, she thinks: woof.
She thinks that at any moment a municipal animal-control officer is going to throw a net over her and haul her off to the shelter.
Why do women have such low self-esteem? There are many complex psychological and societal reasons, by which I mean Barbie. Girls grow up playing with a doll proportioned such that, if it were a human, it would be seven feet tall and weigh 81 pounds, of which 53 pounds would be bosoms.
This is a difficult appearance standard to live up to, especially when you contrast it with the standard set for little boys by their dolls ... excuse me, by their action figures. Most of the action figures that my son played with when he was little were hideous-looking. For example, he was very fond of an action figure (part of the He-Man series) called ''Buzz-Off,'' who was part human, part flying insect. Buzz-Off was not a looker. But he was extremely self-confident. You could not imagine Buzz-Off saying to the other action figures: ``Do you think these wings make my hips look big?''
But women grow up thinking they need to look like Barbie, which for most women is impossible, although there is a multibillion-dollar beauty industry devoted to convincing women that they must try. I once saw an Oprah show wherein supermodel Cindy Crawford dispensed makeup tips to the studio audience. Cindy had all these middle-aged women applying beauty products to their faces; she stressed how important it was to apply them in a certain way, using the tips of their fingers. All the woman dutifully did this, even though it was obvious to any sane observer that, no matter how carefully they applied these products, they would never look remotely like Cindy Crawford, who is some kind of genetic mutation.
I'm not saying that men are superior. I'm just saying that you're not going to get a group of middle-aged men to sit in a room and apply cosmetics to themselves under the instruction of Brad Pitt, in hopes of looking more like him. Men would realize that this task was pointless and demeaning. They would find some way to bolster their self-esteem that did not require looking like Brad Pitt. They would say to Brad: ``Oh YEAH? Well what do you know about LAWN CARE, pretty boy?''
Of course, many women will argue that the reason they become obsessed with trying to look like Cindy Crawford is that men, being as shallow as a drop of spit, WANT women to look that way. To which I have two responses:
1. Hey, just because WE'RE idiots, that doesn't mean YOU have to be; and
2. Men don't even notice 97 percent of the beauty efforts you make anyway. Take fingernails. The average woman spends 5,000 hours per year worrying about her fingernails; I have never once, in more than 40 years of listening to men talk about women, heard a man say, ''She has a nice set of fingernails!'' Many men would not notice if a woman had upward of four hands.
Anyway, to get back to my original point: If you're a man, and a woman asks you how she looks, you're in big trouble. Obviously, you can't say she looks bad. But you also can't say that she looks great, because she'll think you're lying, because she has spent countless hours, with the help of the multibillion-dollar beauty industry, obsessing about the differences between herself and Cindy Crawford. Also, she suspects that you're not qualified to judge anybody's appearance. This is because you have shaving cream in your hair.
If you're a man, at some point a woman will ask you how she looks.
''How do I look?'' she'll ask.
You must be careful how you answer this question. The best technique is to form an honest yet sensitive opinion, then collapse on the floor with some kind of fatal seizure. Trust me, this is the easiest way out. Because you will never come up with the right answer.
The problem is that women generally do not think of their looks in the same way that men do. Most men form an opinion of how they look in seventh grade, and they stick to it for the rest of their lives. Some men form the opinion that they are irresistible stud muffins, and they do not change this opinion even when their faces sag and their noses bloat to the size of eggplants and their eyebrows grow together to form what appears to be a giant forehead-dwelling tropical caterpillar.
Most men, I believe, think of themselves as average-looking. Men will think this even if their faces cause heart failure in cattle at a range of 300 yards. Being average does not bother them; average is fine, for men. This is why men never ask anybody how they look. Their primary form of beauty care is to shave themselves, which is essentially the same form of beauty care that they give to their lawns.
If, at the end of his four-minute daily beauty regimen, a man has managed to wipe most of the shaving cream out of his hair and is not bleeding too badly, he feels that he has done all he can, so he stops thinking about his appearance and devotes his mind to more critical issues, such as the Super Bowl.
Women do not look at themselves this way. If I had to express, in three words, what I believe most women think about their appearance, those words would be: ''not good enough.'' No matter how attractive a woman may appear to be to others, when she looks at herself in the mirror, she thinks: woof.
She thinks that at any moment a municipal animal-control officer is going to throw a net over her and haul her off to the shelter.
Why do women have such low self-esteem? There are many complex psychological and societal reasons, by which I mean Barbie. Girls grow up playing with a doll proportioned such that, if it were a human, it would be seven feet tall and weigh 81 pounds, of which 53 pounds would be bosoms.
This is a difficult appearance standard to live up to, especially when you contrast it with the standard set for little boys by their dolls ... excuse me, by their action figures. Most of the action figures that my son played with when he was little were hideous-looking. For example, he was very fond of an action figure (part of the He-Man series) called ''Buzz-Off,'' who was part human, part flying insect. Buzz-Off was not a looker. But he was extremely self-confident. You could not imagine Buzz-Off saying to the other action figures: ``Do you think these wings make my hips look big?''
But women grow up thinking they need to look like Barbie, which for most women is impossible, although there is a multibillion-dollar beauty industry devoted to convincing women that they must try. I once saw an Oprah show wherein supermodel Cindy Crawford dispensed makeup tips to the studio audience. Cindy had all these middle-aged women applying beauty products to their faces; she stressed how important it was to apply them in a certain way, using the tips of their fingers. All the woman dutifully did this, even though it was obvious to any sane observer that, no matter how carefully they applied these products, they would never look remotely like Cindy Crawford, who is some kind of genetic mutation.
I'm not saying that men are superior. I'm just saying that you're not going to get a group of middle-aged men to sit in a room and apply cosmetics to themselves under the instruction of Brad Pitt, in hopes of looking more like him. Men would realize that this task was pointless and demeaning. They would find some way to bolster their self-esteem that did not require looking like Brad Pitt. They would say to Brad: ``Oh YEAH? Well what do you know about LAWN CARE, pretty boy?''
Of course, many women will argue that the reason they become obsessed with trying to look like Cindy Crawford is that men, being as shallow as a drop of spit, WANT women to look that way. To which I have two responses:
1. Hey, just because WE'RE idiots, that doesn't mean YOU have to be; and
2. Men don't even notice 97 percent of the beauty efforts you make anyway. Take fingernails. The average woman spends 5,000 hours per year worrying about her fingernails; I have never once, in more than 40 years of listening to men talk about women, heard a man say, ''She has a nice set of fingernails!'' Many men would not notice if a woman had upward of four hands.
Anyway, to get back to my original point: If you're a man, and a woman asks you how she looks, you're in big trouble. Obviously, you can't say she looks bad. But you also can't say that she looks great, because she'll think you're lying, because she has spent countless hours, with the help of the multibillion-dollar beauty industry, obsessing about the differences between herself and Cindy Crawford. Also, she suspects that you're not qualified to judge anybody's appearance. This is because you have shaving cream in your hair.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Youth Conference weekend
Mike needed to attend Youth Conference this past weekend and he asked me if I wanted to go with him. It was pretty great! There were 6 stakes represented and about 800+ youth. On Thursday afternoon Alex Boye came and spoke to the youth. I kind of knew about his conversion to the gospel but hearing it from him was quite amazing. He interacted with the youth quite a bit and I hope they took away what he said. Which was basically turn your back on the world and your face to God. That when you do that you are given riches that out weigh anything the world can give you. He was the reason I wanted to go and he didn't disappoint.
I'm not a late night person so after Alex spoke and it was free time we checking into the hotel room and that is where I stayed. Since it was cool and comfortable and I knew Mike wouldn't be back until after 11:30 central time which made it 12:30 eastern time. We got up the following morning and I took Mike back to the conference and I had a few wedding errands to run and I met back up with Mike after the morning sessions. We attended the last youth speaker by the name of Glenn Rawson who is the host of Sounds of Sunday.
His talk to the youth was about how they are just like the Army of Helaman, they are the modern day Stripling Warriors. It was powerful as he spoke to them but he said something that we could all relate too. As Brother Rawson was headed down to Salt Lake Airport he was driving with his windows open since it was during the middle of the night. He said how great it felt and he was driving down the highway all the sudden he drove into a strong skunk smell. He said he rolled the windows up quickly only to think well that is dumb now I have that smell trapped in the truck. He rolled them down again and drove a little faster to get out of the smell.
He related that to things that come into our lives and how sometimes they just stink but we don't stop and complain about the smell and stay IN the smell we drive on through it as fast as we can. When trials or sin happen to us we need to move through the skunk smell and avoid rolling up the windows to stopping to enjoy the smell of skunk.
This also applies to perhaps stupid things we have done. When we repent we move on and we don't keep going back to the skunk smell to punish ourselves over and over again. We move on.
LOVED that thought. All in all it was a great weekend. We had the awesome opportunity to meet with all the Stake Presidents of the Area Council and with Elder Anderson. What a choice experience that was. We each talked about our spouse and what first attracted us to them. I refrained from say that it was how Mike's back pockets danced as he walked. Hehehehehe! I was touched by something Sister Anderson passed on to us it is something she learned when she attended BYU. She said we all say how we want to marry a man of God who is willing to serve God and we should never complain when they do because that is what men of God do, they serve God. I wish I could remember who she quoted but I like that. Anyhow on Saturday we were all taught amazing principal's by Elder Anderson. He taught the youth how to ask inspired questions. Some of them were quite amazing. When the question was asked he would ask a Stake Priesthood leader to answer the question first and then he would follow up. He was quite a gentle soul and it was amazing to watch him ponder the question and listen to the spirit and then answer. I know the Lord loves His youth without measure so it was an amazing spiritual treat to see it happen again.
I loved this past weekend for so many reason but most of all the needed spiritual uplift that came and the time spend with my favorite friend! It was another peek into heaven!
I'm not a late night person so after Alex spoke and it was free time we checking into the hotel room and that is where I stayed. Since it was cool and comfortable and I knew Mike wouldn't be back until after 11:30 central time which made it 12:30 eastern time. We got up the following morning and I took Mike back to the conference and I had a few wedding errands to run and I met back up with Mike after the morning sessions. We attended the last youth speaker by the name of Glenn Rawson who is the host of Sounds of Sunday.
His talk to the youth was about how they are just like the Army of Helaman, they are the modern day Stripling Warriors. It was powerful as he spoke to them but he said something that we could all relate too. As Brother Rawson was headed down to Salt Lake Airport he was driving with his windows open since it was during the middle of the night. He said how great it felt and he was driving down the highway all the sudden he drove into a strong skunk smell. He said he rolled the windows up quickly only to think well that is dumb now I have that smell trapped in the truck. He rolled them down again and drove a little faster to get out of the smell.
He related that to things that come into our lives and how sometimes they just stink but we don't stop and complain about the smell and stay IN the smell we drive on through it as fast as we can. When trials or sin happen to us we need to move through the skunk smell and avoid rolling up the windows to stopping to enjoy the smell of skunk.
This also applies to perhaps stupid things we have done. When we repent we move on and we don't keep going back to the skunk smell to punish ourselves over and over again. We move on.
LOVED that thought. All in all it was a great weekend. We had the awesome opportunity to meet with all the Stake Presidents of the Area Council and with Elder Anderson. What a choice experience that was. We each talked about our spouse and what first attracted us to them. I refrained from say that it was how Mike's back pockets danced as he walked. Hehehehehe! I was touched by something Sister Anderson passed on to us it is something she learned when she attended BYU. She said we all say how we want to marry a man of God who is willing to serve God and we should never complain when they do because that is what men of God do, they serve God. I wish I could remember who she quoted but I like that. Anyhow on Saturday we were all taught amazing principal's by Elder Anderson. He taught the youth how to ask inspired questions. Some of them were quite amazing. When the question was asked he would ask a Stake Priesthood leader to answer the question first and then he would follow up. He was quite a gentle soul and it was amazing to watch him ponder the question and listen to the spirit and then answer. I know the Lord loves His youth without measure so it was an amazing spiritual treat to see it happen again.
I loved this past weekend for so many reason but most of all the needed spiritual uplift that came and the time spend with my favorite friend! It was another peek into heaven!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The house that built me
I was introduced to this song by Kristen. I love it and it says what I so often feel. I think about the house I grew up in and long to take a stroll in it one more time. I remember when we were cleaning the house out I walked all over and wondered how I could capture all the memories that were contained inside. The back porch where dad hung his hat. Would I remember the best tub ever? The apricot tree that grew huge apricots. The 2 lemon trees and the wonderful flowers that grew in the yard. The bird houses that were build by my dad. The smell of new wood cut in dad's shop. The amazing garden's that were grown. The wonderful front windows that offered a view of the telephone wires where the squirrels ran back and forth. The grass that seemed a mile deep and oh so soft. And the two wonderful parents who lived within those walls. That is the house that built me.
When life gets way out of balance I just need to head back to good ol` Los Gatos and regroup and renew those wonderful memories and life can go on again!
When life gets way out of balance I just need to head back to good ol` Los Gatos and regroup and renew those wonderful memories and life can go on again!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
He Lives!
I was asked a few weeks ago if I was going to be in town this weekend and could I teach the Relief Society lesson that Sunday. It happens to be the last Sunday in which we study talks from the previous General Conference.
I did hope for a moment that Mike would be going to another ward and I could go with him and then I could say no but he suggested I teach it. They are 2 great talks- Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ by Elder Hales and The Love of God by Pres. Uchtdorf.
I have listened to these talks no less than 7 times each. They are both great stand alone talks and I was asked to teach them both in 30 mins. I have always admired my friend Debbie who was the teacher for this slot when I was Relief Society President.
I emailed her and said... help what do I do? It was not coming together as one. They were still 2 separate stand alone talks. Last last night she emailed me and it was the last thing I read before falling asleep with a prayer in my heart that I would be able to do this and that it would be what Heavenly Father wanted me to teach. After all Sunday was 2 days away and I still just had 2 amazing talks.
I woke up early this morning jumped out of bed and sat down at the computer and within a matter of an hour pulled out a lesson with these two talks each meshing together. It became clear to me again that this is Heavenly Father's church and we are His children and he does answer prayers. I just have a few clean up items and some word posters to make up and I am good to go.
My soul is at peace and I too can say as did Elder Hales and President Uchtdorf that HE LIVES!
I did hope for a moment that Mike would be going to another ward and I could go with him and then I could say no but he suggested I teach it. They are 2 great talks- Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ by Elder Hales and The Love of God by Pres. Uchtdorf.
I have listened to these talks no less than 7 times each. They are both great stand alone talks and I was asked to teach them both in 30 mins. I have always admired my friend Debbie who was the teacher for this slot when I was Relief Society President.
I emailed her and said... help what do I do? It was not coming together as one. They were still 2 separate stand alone talks. Last last night she emailed me and it was the last thing I read before falling asleep with a prayer in my heart that I would be able to do this and that it would be what Heavenly Father wanted me to teach. After all Sunday was 2 days away and I still just had 2 amazing talks.
I woke up early this morning jumped out of bed and sat down at the computer and within a matter of an hour pulled out a lesson with these two talks each meshing together. It became clear to me again that this is Heavenly Father's church and we are His children and he does answer prayers. I just have a few clean up items and some word posters to make up and I am good to go.
My soul is at peace and I too can say as did Elder Hales and President Uchtdorf that HE LIVES!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Mother's Day
Mike was leaving town on Sunday so we had Mother's Day on Saturday so he could be with us. A yummy dinner of steaks, grilled veggies, potatoes and Key Lime pie were made and soon on the table! The food was great but the company was out of this world.
Then it was time for a few presents. Such sweet kids to give me gifts for Mother's Day. I told them all that I didn't need anything and being with them was the best present of all. But the gift that brought tears to my eyes was the last one. I opened a folder to see a certificate with my name on it. It was a certificate for donation to the Multiple Myeloma Aassociation in Kathy's name. It brought tears to my eyes for the sweet thought of giving a donation that could benefit my sweet sister. It touched my heart so deeply with their sweet act of love. Each one of my kids are amazing to me.
The moment was made even more special since we knew Kathy was beginning her 2nd treatment that very day. I knew she had started into the thick of things again. I knew she would once again be so sick and going through more pain then I could ever imagine and then when everything came together all I could do was shed tears.
I don't know how Mike and I got so lucky to have such great kids. They take such great care of me when Mike is gone. I am thankful for them daily. They teach me so much each day. Love each of you so very much! Thank you showing me what heaven is like here on earth!
Friday, May 7, 2010
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.
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.
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