Monday, January 27, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
Two Birthdays
One of my favorite quotations is from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He said,
First and foremost, Mom served her family. As a little girl growing up in Iowa, Mom served us through hard work! She gardened and canned fruit and vegetables. My brother Scott thought she was amazing when she magically made pickles out of cucumbers.
She and a friend even had a small business creating and selling wooden crafts. They made family tree plaques with curving branches carefully cut with a jigsaw. The trees were stained and the apples carefully painted and then labelled with the names of family members. My mom always had lovely printing and handwriting (and lamented over my poor penmanship) and she must have written thousands of names on those tiny, wooden apples. I also remember her making and selling plaques for teacher gifts; the bright crayon boxes spilled out crayons with student names instead of colors.
Mom never considered herself a seamstress, but when I was young she made most of my clothes, from my underwear to my dresses. As her family grew, her sewing was generally limited to curtains and Halloween costumes. But when her children left home, she took up quilting and machine embroidery. We still love snuggling under her quilts, sleeping on her pillowcases and drying off with a personalized towel she embroidered.
Mom was very dedicated in her church service. She always had a calling and she often served in leadership positions. She was Relief Society President at least twice, and she was always a faithful visiting teacher. Even after her children were grown, Mom served in the Primary and Young Women organizations. Some women have a "been there, done that" attitude as they get older, but Mom never did. She loved going to Girls' Camp and told us she was scolded (as a leader) for staying up too late and giggling too loudly. Before she had her first knee replacement, she knew she needed to be released as a Primary teacher, but she loved those little eight year-olds and was so sad not to teach them every week.
I am grateful that today was a holiday, so we had time to celebrate Mom's birthday. Marianne and I went out for lunch at Extraordinary Desserts. Mom definitely would have approved! We also visited the cemetery and put new flowers on her headstone. Later, we got together with my sister's family to sing "Happy Birthday" to Mom and play Phase 10, one of her favorite card games.
Happy Birthday Mom! I miss you every day, but I know that we both have important work to do before the day comes for us to be reunited. Love you with all my heart!
"Everyone has the power for greatness, not fame but for greatness, because greatness is determined by service. "Since we are celebrating his birthday today, it seems fitting to share this quote. But today is another, even more important (at least to me) birthday! My sweet mom was born 72 years ago. Mom truly was a great woman and she lived a lived full of service to others.
First and foremost, Mom served her family. As a little girl growing up in Iowa, Mom served us through hard work! She gardened and canned fruit and vegetables. My brother Scott thought she was amazing when she magically made pickles out of cucumbers.
She and a friend even had a small business creating and selling wooden crafts. They made family tree plaques with curving branches carefully cut with a jigsaw. The trees were stained and the apples carefully painted and then labelled with the names of family members. My mom always had lovely printing and handwriting (and lamented over my poor penmanship) and she must have written thousands of names on those tiny, wooden apples. I also remember her making and selling plaques for teacher gifts; the bright crayon boxes spilled out crayons with student names instead of colors.
Mom never considered herself a seamstress, but when I was young she made most of my clothes, from my underwear to my dresses. As her family grew, her sewing was generally limited to curtains and Halloween costumes. But when her children left home, she took up quilting and machine embroidery. We still love snuggling under her quilts, sleeping on her pillowcases and drying off with a personalized towel she embroidered.
Mom was very dedicated in her church service. She always had a calling and she often served in leadership positions. She was Relief Society President at least twice, and she was always a faithful visiting teacher. Even after her children were grown, Mom served in the Primary and Young Women organizations. Some women have a "been there, done that" attitude as they get older, but Mom never did. She loved going to Girls' Camp and told us she was scolded (as a leader) for staying up too late and giggling too loudly. Before she had her first knee replacement, she knew she needed to be released as a Primary teacher, but she loved those little eight year-olds and was so sad not to teach them every week.
I am grateful that today was a holiday, so we had time to celebrate Mom's birthday. Marianne and I went out for lunch at Extraordinary Desserts. Mom definitely would have approved! We also visited the cemetery and put new flowers on her headstone. Later, we got together with my sister's family to sing "Happy Birthday" to Mom and play Phase 10, one of her favorite card games.
Happy Birthday Mom! I miss you every day, but I know that we both have important work to do before the day comes for us to be reunited. Love you with all my heart!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)