My Mom Was…

“A mother is the one who fills your heart in the first place.” – Amy Tan

Today is my mother’s birthday. She’s been gone on to heaven now for almost ten years. I still miss her. She was one of those best moms ever. Birthdays were always a time for a family celebration. While we might not have always celebrated on the exact date, we did always celebrate her birthday every year.

What a blessing it was to have had her so near to me all my life. I never lived more than a few miles away from where she lived. I visited with her on a lot of Sunday afternoons. When my children were little we would go for dinner after church every other Sunday. She would usually have either roast or her version of spaghetti made with macaroni instead. The kids loved it. For dessert we often had blackberry pie. She always had a welcome for us. Always a smile and a hug. The grandkids thought she hung the moon and she thought they did.

She was a farmwife. She worked beside my dad when he needed her. She cooked for workhands. She gardened and canned and froze the produce. She enjoyed growing different things. She and Dad once grew peanuts and then she made peanut brittle with them. She made the most delicious homemade doughnuts. Sometimes she would do that when my kids were staying overnight. They loved that.

She was a mom who was always right there cheering us on in everything we did at school. Or wherever. She read my stories and was my biggest fan. She and her sisters were the inspiration for my Rosey Corner books, especially the first one, Angel Sister. I based my main character, Kate’s personality and can-do attitude on Mom. She cut out any newspaper articles about my books and kept the clippings forever. She kept copies of the stories and articles I published before I wrote my books. We found all that when we went through her things after she passed away.

She claimed to not like cats, but then had a cat named Maggie that she let come in the house. She bottle-fed baby calves. She raised baby chicks. She saved my pet banty rooster from a hawk by running at it, furiously waving a dishtowel. She let me have a dog. She loved feeding the birds.

She never complained about the hard work of being a farmwife or that our house lacked many conveniences others took for granted. She just buckled down and did whatever needed doing. When anyone was sick in the family, she was there first in line to take care of them. Her father. Her mother. Dad’s mother and father. Dad’s sister. Her sisters. Her aunt and uncle. Even Dad’s uncle by marriage and his brother. My sisters and me. And of course, Dad. She overflowed with compassion and love.

She loved word games and playing cards. She wore out a crossword dictionary working crossword puzzles. She made the best crackerjacks in the world. She liked to watch Jeopardy. She loved to read. She collected bird figurines and her shelves got so full she had to tell us not to give her any  more.

So many memories swirl around in my head. But the best memory of all was how she loved me. Happy heavenly birthday, Mom. You were the best mother I could have ever had.

“A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go.” – Leonardo DiCaprio

What’s something you can say your mother was or is if you are fortunate to still have her with you?