Another year has passed without Mom. I’m at the beach again remembering her. It seems to be the one place I feel truly peaceful and where I can focus on the important parts of life and not the hectic busy-ness of life.
We realized last night that I’ve lived 1/3 of my life without her now. Seems so strange and so odd. I often wonder what my life would be like or what I would be like if she was still around. I also often think about what parts of me are her and her influence. Of course, I know the obvious characteristics from her. But I often wonder about the more subtle ones that I wasn’t able to observe in my short time with her.
I remembered two things about Mom yesterday that made me laugh. I was reminded of the first one by my best friend. When we were in college she asked mom to pray for her because she wanted this guy to ask her on a date. Mom, being who she was, prayed faithfully for that to happen. Later when my friend told Mom that she was engaged to that guy, Mom said, “!”. It reminded me of Mom’s sense of humor but also how if she was asked to pray for something, she would! And she’d pray until there was an answer! What an incredible example to have.
The other thing that I remembered today was how Mom used to say, “Ladies don’t flop!” It just makes me laugh when I think of that...I can hear her saying it so vividly. In high school I would always come home, throw my books in a chair and flop over the sofa. That always drove Mom nuts and she’d remind me, “Ladies don’t flop”. Mom was very prim and proper and I’m sure my often tomboy ways drove her crazy.
We realized last night that I’ve lived 1/3 of my life without her now. Seems so strange and so odd. I often wonder what my life would be like or what I would be like if she was still around. I also often think about what parts of me are her and her influence. Of course, I know the obvious characteristics from her. But I often wonder about the more subtle ones that I wasn’t able to observe in my short time with her.
I remembered two things about Mom yesterday that made me laugh. I was reminded of the first one by my best friend. When we were in college she asked mom to pray for her because she wanted this guy to ask her on a date. Mom, being who she was, prayed faithfully for that to happen. Later when my friend told Mom that she was engaged to that guy, Mom said, “!”. It reminded me of Mom’s sense of humor but also how if she was asked to pray for something, she would! And she’d pray until there was an answer! What an incredible example to have.
The other thing that I remembered today was how Mom used to say, “Ladies don’t flop!” It just makes me laugh when I think of that...I can hear her saying it so vividly. In high school I would always come home, throw my books in a chair and flop over the sofa. That always drove Mom nuts and she’d remind me, “Ladies don’t flop”. Mom was very prim and proper and I’m sure my often tomboy ways drove her crazy.
So she’s been gone 14 years. I wrote on FaceBook yesterday that I think about her a million times a day. I really do. They aren’t all sad thoughts, some are funny, some are questions and most are just daily memories that remind me how thankful I am for her and that I got to have her as my Mom!
**I took this photo this morning as the sun was rising. That's Catalina Island in the distance. It was a beautiful, beautiful, sunrise.**
