Memory Monday: Happy Birthday, Mother

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOTHER

Me and My Mother

I came across this picture recently. I’m not sure exactly when it was taken, but by our hair color and the furniture, it was taken a good 30-35 years ago. I have no idea what we are laughing about, but it has become my favorite picture of my mother and me.

A few years after my father died, Mother moved to the town where my family and I lived. My son was about eighteen months old then and she passed away when he was in college. Mother and I went from through the stages of her helping me out (watching my kids, helping me with my household chores, etc.) to friends (running around shopping, going to garage sales, having lunches together, etc.) to me helping her out (making sure she took her medicine, taking her to the doctor and reminding her of what he or she said to do, driving her around because her eyesight wasn’t the best).

I never understood what people meant when they said they were “ready to go” but I think at the end my mother was to that point. She lived in her own home, kept house (sort of), and worked outside with her flowers. But the thing I remember most about her for the last couple of years she was here was the look in her eyes. They had an emptiness about them. She never talked about dying, but I believe she was ready. She had pre-paid her funeral and had a will prepared leaving all she had left on earth to her children. She loved God, knew that Jesus had died for her sins and that she would live with God for eternity. With that, she was at peace.

Today is Mother’s birthday. It gives me peace to know that she is with her husband and baby son who died without ever feeling his mother’s arms around him. It gives me peace to know that sometime in the future, I will see all of them again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOTHER!!! You are still so loved.