My Mother - A Tribute

I'm the baby - with my mother, sister and brother

Happy Mother's Day 2017

As I reflect on this annual event and remember my mother, I think that many of us do not appreciate our mothers enough until we are older and have children of our own.  Then all of a sudden we are so thankful they put up with us the way they did.

We start to remember all the little things they did to make our lives so special, to keep us safe, to teach us all they could in order for us to enter into life well informed, steady on our feet, and ready for whatever life would throw at us.

There are so many things my mother did for us children that have affected us to to this day that I can only be in awe and thankful that she took so much time out of her busy day to spend with us, tutor us, discipline us, take us on field trips, and basically dote on us.

My mother used every opportunity as a teaching moment.  We had all kinds of animals including dogs, cats, birds, hamsters and chickens.  These were learning experiences she said.  Our hamster was pregnant and due to give birth. This was an exciting event, she said.  We were all waiting for this blessed event.  When that moment arrived my mother yelled for us to come and watch.  As fate would have it, I was in the bathroom and missed the whole thing. Boy, was I disappointed.

One day she told us she was going to teach us about the birds and the bees.  I was so excited.  I had heard about this when adults talked and made jokes about it. I couldn't wait. I was finally going to find out what the birds and the bees was all about.  As we all sat down on the couch with her, she opened up a book that was literally about the birds and the bees. Really?  I was disappointed but as she read about life my interest grew by leaps and bounds.

With my cousins at the turkey farm

So much of our time was spent going places and doing things.  She organized field trips so that we would see the country.

We went to turkey farms, we took the train, we went to a farm to ride a tractor and we always, always went to the Fresno Zoo.

Honeymoon Pool Dinky Creek

Every summer we spent two weeks at Camp Fresno in Dinkey Creek experiencing our mountain getaway.  It was my favorite vacation.

Once my brother saw a trout in the creek so he threw a rock at it and caught it. We ran back to the camp yelling, "Mom, Mom, Johnny caught a fish."  She promptly cleaned the fish, coated it in butter and lemon, wrapped it in aluminum foil and grilled it right there.  That was the best fish I  had ever eaten.

On the tractor

Feeding Nosy the elephant at the zoo

As I got older I did not appreciate my mother like I should have.  Why, I don't really know. But when I came back to her side with children of my own, she was once again my bulwark and my anchor.  Whatever I did in life, whatever mistakes I made, whatever silly and foolish choices I made, she never gave up on me.  She stepped in and took up the mantle when I needed help after a recent divorce.  My children benefited greatly because of her efforts.  I will forever be indebted.

RIP my sweet mother.  You left us richer and with memories we cherish and will never forget.  Until we meet again.