Happy Mother's Day Mom...

Mother's day has been very bitter-sweet for me ever since 1989. It was on May 11th, 1989 (3 days prior to Mother's Day that year if memory serves me correctly) that my mom passed away. Of course, when she passed away it was after spending nearly 8 years in a nursing home due to an aneurysm she suffered on August 18th, 1981 followed by a stroke on August 20th, 1981 which left her in an incapacitated state. Following her death her ashes were scattered and I never got a place to visit in order to remember her. So in this weekend I wanted to honor her and celebrate her life, figuring if there is no memorial marker for her physically, she can be honored in cyberspace.

It is probably no surprise that my mom meant a great deal to me. She took care of my brother and I when my dad was gone (he spent time on a deep-sea drilling ship and then commuted between our native San Diego and Orange County for years.) She went to all my baseball games (and pretended to understand the game!), gave me all the hugs that I needed, held my hand or was with me all 7 times (Yes! seven times) I got stitches as a kid, scolded me when I had done wrong, taught me how to Christmas shop, taught me to respect others, taught me to hold the door open for a woman, and demonstrated care for others by various volunteer efforts. Was my mom perfect...? Pretty close to it! To be honest, outside of her smoking habit that I tried to talk her out of repeatedly from the time I was around 10 years old, there weren't many things she did that I thought was wrong. I'm sure there was, but a son's memory tends to be a little selective... :)

The greatest attribute that my mom possessed was the ability to respect other people and treat other people well. Yes, she gave me the proverbial speeches of "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all." or to "Treat others as I would have them treat me". But with her it was more than a speech. I felt like she lived that way. And she always made me personally feel like I was the most important person around.

My mom LOVED Agatha Christie books and loved to read in general. I used to go to the old library on Sandrock road on Serra Mesa and wait and wait and wait and wait until she was done picking out books to bring home (anyone remember that branch?! I know they have opened a new branch on Aero Rd.)

Another time my brother and I would have to wait for my mom was when we would go shopping down in Fashion or Mission Valley. In those days Woolworth's department store had a cafe and my mom would stop and get some lunch or even just a piece of pie for my brother and I. But one thing my mom would not give up was the laaaast drop of her coffee! My brother and I would be so fidgety and ready to go but my mom would NOT leave until she had drained the very last of her coffee cup!

My mom was also a great cook. I remember her cooking all types of dishes. She would cook German dishes periodically due to our German heritage. Or a Roast. Fried Chicken and mashed potatoes. Cow's tongue (yes...you heard right. And it was good!). But my favorite food that my mom made? Her Corn Fritters with maples syrup! Mmmmmm When it was my birthday and she would ask what I wanted to eat? Corn Fritters! My mom also taught me to bake cookies and cakes (we had a lot of fun together). The only cook I ever remember being better than my mom? That would be her mom, my Grandma! (More on her later).

My biggest disappointment that my mom is not still alive is that she never got to meet Brenda, my wife of 21 years who my mom would adore! And she never got to meet my son and become the tremendous grandmother I know she would have been! Fortunately for my son, my mother-in-law is a wonderful grandmother to him. In fact, she is a tremendous mom to me too and I realize how lucky I am in that regard...

Anyway, I am going to post more on my mom this weekend. And more on my Grandmother. But right now, I am going to post some pictures of her...More later!