I lost my Mom just a couple of weeks ago. I've wanted to write this post for several days, but just kept finding reasons to wait...looking for pictures, writing the story in my head, just missing her so much that it hurt to write about it.
My Mom was a beautiful lady who was just a young girl when she met Dad and got married at 17! She grew into an adult while raising 8, yes 8, children. I was the oldest and only one of 2 girls...the rest were boys...and wow, was our household busy. Here's one calm photo that I remember...
Can you just imagine her getting all these kids ready for a family picture? I could start sweating thinking about getting ready and lining up the little ones to tie shoes, tuck in shirts, comb hair and wipe off dirty faces...for one of our only family pictures in my life!
We all have funny memories of going anywhere together when we were little....we drove a 9 passenger station wagon with 10 people...so someone was always touching someone or pushing or wrestling...no seatbelts back then! Dad would come to a stoplight and look over at people staring into our car...so he would hold up all 10 fingers to save them trying to count!
When there's 8 kids in your family, you don't go out to eat very often....and when we did, the trip usually started out as a leisurely drive(with 8 kids mind you) and Dad always ended up at the Dairy Queen or McDonalds...he would let us know ahead of time if it was McDonalds so we could decide if we wanted a burger or fries...that's right, not both! Burgers were 18 cents and fries were 12 cents, so we learned to negotiate with a sibling for half their burger and we would share half of our fries...and we were happy!
I know most of you raised in the 50s and 60s have the same kind of stories....and we probably didn't have much money, but I don't think we had a clue...those were just good times.
My Dad died 10 years ago and Mom has missed him everyday since then. Now they are together and dancing in heaven...and someday I will see them again...now to share just a few memories of my Mom...
Here's my Mom as a Grandma at 39! With my daughter, Jen, in 1974.
Me, my sister and Mom about 15 years ago at our resort.
Mom & Dad striking a pose at the resort in the "magazine eyes" glasses.
Dad and Mom...they did everything together...she lost her best friend when he was gone!
Mom and I a few years ago when we visited in Illinois.
This picture is a treasure, taken just 2 months ago. It's four generations of my family...Mom, me, my daugher, Jen, and her daughter, Jillian....
I miss you Mom! Save a place for me....we'll chat again one day.
