It's altogether fitting that mom passed today and today being Good Friday. Mom was a lady of strong faith and she raised us four kids in the same mold. Church was her foundation, her guiding light, and her social time. Yet, you'd never know it because she didn't wear it on her sleeve.
While dad was the breadwinner, she was in charge of everything else; the kids, our school, the house, the meals, the laundry, the cleaning, the healing-when we were hurt or sick, the listening and reassurance if we had a hard day, and always the encouragement. She was our biggest cheerleader and did the same when her beloved grandkids came along.
Her life wasn't easy. Grandpa had a traveling construction company going from job to job. Mom moved 37 times before graduating high school. She and her sisters along with Grandma had to cook meals for the crew. She, along with her mom and sisters all got breast cancer over the years. 2 of them survived it. She lost her youngest son in a car accident. In her later years, her spine was ravaged by the effects of 10 years on Prednisone, but in the end, it was a regional infection that lay dormant for years that got her. She caught Valley Fever while wintering at her cherished Apache Junction, AZ home 6 years ago. It reared up again late last fall.
I was with her when she passed today. I had stopped to buy her a peppermint shake on the way. When I got there I could see it wasn't good. She gave me the thumbs up. So I held her hand and showed her pics of all her grandkids. She said she saw dad and my late brother. I told her my sister was coming (who also has breast cancer and had surgery last week) but she was still an hour out on a 4 hour drive. Then I showed mom a pic of my sister. Mom's eyes opened wide and she drew a deep breath; her last. It was very peaceful.
I shall miss her, as I miss my dad. She was a good mom, the best.
So if you have a notion, say a prayer for mom...or your mom...or all moms. She'd like that.
