My Mom, 14 May 1926 - 14 Feb 2010
Well it’s finally over, my Mom passed away peacefully earlier this morning a little after 01:00. My older sister (OS) called to pass the news as LOML aetheldaeg and I were preparing to leave for church. I took this sad news as a good thing, a blessing that Mom is no longer in pain. More important, I like to think that she has found what she’s been seeking for the past six years, she and Dad are together again.
My emotions have been on a bit of a roller-coaster ride since the call, I’ve spoken to YS since then and will have some definitive news as to what’s in the near future, perhaps a short ceremony to celebrate her life, perhaps nothing until the family gathering, now scheduled for 29 May during which Mom’s and Dad’s ashes will be interred together and a tree planted to commemorate their lives.
To many my Mom was not a remarkable woman, perhaps true, but to me she is the woman whose life was not an easy one. She was born and passed her early life in a time when there was plenty of trouble in her part of the world. She survived the war, and afterward fell in love, married young in 1949. As a Wife and Mother of three kids, she immigrated with her family in late 1962 to begin a new life half a world away from the things and language that were familiar to her. Being sponsored by her in-laws brought her no joy for they treated her harshly, not by any specific thing that they did, rather, by the things that weren’t done, Mom wasn’t included but left to her own devices, somewhat outcast. She endured the pain stoically keeping it sheltered inside.
That she raised us while holding down a job, preparing meals for us well before we even thought of getting up, then hurrying off to work, keeping house all the while not complaining too much about anything speaks volumes to me. I’ve often thanked her, but I thank her again. Without her sacrifice for me, I wonder if I would have grown up to be the man I am, I guess I’ll never truly know.
I’m going to remember Mom as the lady she was, living every moment as a vibrant person, one who laughed and cried, who was a wonderful cook, kept her home as clean as she could with three kids messing it continuously. A lady who always reminded me of a time when I was small enough that I needed to jump up to be kissed, a little guy who adored her and who she doted upon. We often spoke of the times long past, reminiscing of things good and not so, days of fun and sorrow. Often we shared a laugh when talking about Dad and the joy he brought to her life. I know that she too brought him the joy that lit up his life. Her spirit will live in me, always a reminder that I can aspire to whatever I desire to achieve. Mom, I love you and I miss you… more than you can ever imagine!
My emotions have been on a bit of a roller-coaster ride since the call, I’ve spoken to YS since then and will have some definitive news as to what’s in the near future, perhaps a short ceremony to celebrate her life, perhaps nothing until the family gathering, now scheduled for 29 May during which Mom’s and Dad’s ashes will be interred together and a tree planted to commemorate their lives.
To many my Mom was not a remarkable woman, perhaps true, but to me she is the woman whose life was not an easy one. She was born and passed her early life in a time when there was plenty of trouble in her part of the world. She survived the war, and afterward fell in love, married young in 1949. As a Wife and Mother of three kids, she immigrated with her family in late 1962 to begin a new life half a world away from the things and language that were familiar to her. Being sponsored by her in-laws brought her no joy for they treated her harshly, not by any specific thing that they did, rather, by the things that weren’t done, Mom wasn’t included but left to her own devices, somewhat outcast. She endured the pain stoically keeping it sheltered inside.
That she raised us while holding down a job, preparing meals for us well before we even thought of getting up, then hurrying off to work, keeping house all the while not complaining too much about anything speaks volumes to me. I’ve often thanked her, but I thank her again. Without her sacrifice for me, I wonder if I would have grown up to be the man I am, I guess I’ll never truly know.
I’m going to remember Mom as the lady she was, living every moment as a vibrant person, one who laughed and cried, who was a wonderful cook, kept her home as clean as she could with three kids messing it continuously. A lady who always reminded me of a time when I was small enough that I needed to jump up to be kissed, a little guy who adored her and who she doted upon. We often spoke of the times long past, reminiscing of things good and not so, days of fun and sorrow. Often we shared a laugh when talking about Dad and the joy he brought to her life. I know that she too brought him the joy that lit up his life. Her spirit will live in me, always a reminder that I can aspire to whatever I desire to achieve. Mom, I love you and I miss you… more than you can ever imagine!