Mother’s Day…

I am thankful for the mother I was blessed with. She is an amazing woman who has endured many trials in her life. But, she has never let her trials get the best of her and has pressed forward in life finding ways in which she can serve. She is an example to me, my siblings, and my children.

My father was one who loved to joke around—yes…I learned well from his example. In my MUCH younger years, I remember doing things to tease Mom. When Dad was doing a TOD in Korea, Mom stayed in Springfield, VA—as he was only going to be away for a year. My brother Tom and I were notorious for causing a ruckus and a little stress for mother. At dinnertime, we would all sit together and eat—all 6 children + Mom. Mom had pretty strict rules/table etiquette and chewing with your mouth open or smacking your food was at the top of the forbidden list. I remember one specific evening at dinner, Mom was exhausted and had totally zoned out. I rallied all my siblings to join me in smacking our food loudly. There we were, for about FIVE minutes, sounding like a bunch of pigs smacking our food. All of a sudden she came back to earth and to say she was mad would be an understatement. Oh how all of us laughed at her reaction!

Name-calling was strictly forbidden in our home. Our favorite word to call each other was “pig.” Mom got to where she forbade us to utter that word and if we were caught saying it, we were grounded for days! Well, I decided I would start calling my siblings “gip.” Mom would never understand what a “gip” was or would she?? Pretty soon, all my siblings began to call each other “gip.” One of my sisters went to report to Mom that I had called her a “gip,” and even cried to give the added theatrical effect. Mom hauled upstairs and barged into my room and demanded to know, “what does gip mean?” I then had to report that it was pig spelled backwards. Oh, the trouble I was in…

Patience. That is what my mother had, has, and will always have. Endurance. Another one of her attributes. She has endured the loss of her brother at a young age, her parents, my father (12 years ago), my brother (16 years ago), and my son—her grandson—5 months ago. I have asked her more than once, “Does the pain ever go away?” To which she replies, “never, but time has a way of easing the pain.”

I think back to my brother Tom’s death—March 1996. This would be Mom’s first Mother’s Day without hearing from my brother. Before Tom passed away, he was working on a stained glass angel picture. Because of his turn in health, Tom was unable to finish this project. His good friend Dean finished the project and sent it to Mom for Mother’s Day as Tom’s last gift to her. It is beautiful and has such deep meaning for her.

Now, I am upon my first Mother’s Day without Zach. There is a world of emotions going on inside of me. Longing to see him, be with him, listen to him, talk to him, and hug him. I miss him dearly and words will never be able to adequately express how much I really do. BUT, with that said…I have been blessed with three other incredible children as well—who light my world. Chelsea—who married Jeff (another son) and they have a beautiful and adorable daughter—my granddaughter Brooklynn and are about to have #2 in two weeks. They are such good parents and spend quality time with Brooklynn—they are examples to me. I am grateful for them and the joy and love they bring me in my life. Aaron—who married Katie (another daughter). They are busy with school and I enjoy hearing how they are doing and the experiences they are having in Philly. I am grateful for Katie and ALL her patience and kindness—and I am grateful for Aaron and all the ribbing he loves to give me—from this I know I am loved. Both of you bring great joy into my life. Rachel—who is studying hard in the nursing program—she is sensitive and kind and usually wanting to help someone. I enjoy hearing about what she does in her spare time and often wonder how she has time to do all that she does in just one day! I love your sweetness, humor, and compassion for others. I am grateful for you

This Mother’s Day will be a very different Mother’s Day for sure. While I feel the great loss of Zach, I am also filled with the many sweet memories of raising him and the great privilege of being his mother. Likewise, I am filled with the sweet and tender memories of EACH of my children—from their births, their first steps, tantrums, dances, graduations, college, marriages—and because life goes on—the story has not ended and there is more to come. And for all of these things, I am grateful to be a mom.

Happy Mother’s Day to all my friends!