My Mother

A picture of our surviving family members after my mom passed away.
Memorial service for my mom was held on Memorial Day Weekend, 2004. Venue, Quincy California, the home of my mom's eldest brother, Bud Green.

I know we had digital photos before my beloved mother passed...but where are they?

That was two computers ago, and a house relocation ago, and 5 years ago.

I want to write about my mom even though I have not seen her or talked to her since March 25, 2004 when she passed into eternity.

She was the one in our house who appreciated beauty. She was the one who always decorated. It was her dream to always beautify her surroundings and she finally did it before leaving this world to her new life beyond.

I am proud of my mom. She was brave, strong, soft, industrious, kind hearted, hard working, thrifty and emotional. Passion drove her every day of her 77 years on earth. Life was not easy for her and marriage not always rewarding; she saw two of her children die in early childhood and she fought cancer twice. She saw the Great Depression and World War II. She was the third of 7 children, and her single mother and had to raise 7 children on her own after her husband left her for another woman. My mother helped raise her other siblings and never complained.

What I remember about my mom was her sacrificial love. Her selfless devotion and her undying passion for her children. She was a zealous Catholic and went to church almost every single day. She slept little and worked much.

When my mom finally got her wish and remodeled her home after my father passed away, she was in earnest in preparing a legacy for her children. Remodeling helped her deal with the grief and abandonment of the death of a spouse. It took her over 2 years and she did much of the labor herself. When she finally was through, we children will never forget her new set of house rules: "Put your surgical booties on before entering my house." We hated that rule but obeyed nonetheless.

One of the things I remember about her "new" house was the big kitchen window and she had yellow orchids and yellow daffodils gracing and beautifying the view of the backyard. Outside was a statue of St. Francis with an open hand, and in this hand a little indentation for bird seed.

While my mother was dying, I used to go outside and look at her small garden and her statue and her orchids. One day, while looking upward through this window, I spied out a tiny hummingbird inside her miniscule nest. Watching, looking, ever vigilant, protective. That, my friend, was my mother.

When she died, I know she rested at the feet of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Tears streamed down her face and her grateful heart leapt as He welcomed her into His eternal abode.

I know.....I saw her there.

Today, there are orchids sitting in pretty pink pots in my garden window. Every so often when I see them, I remember my dearly beloved mother. Sometimes I even smile, look up, and say to her, "Mommy, see my new house! Mom, do you like my orchids? They remind me of you!"

My mother left a legacy of beauty and motherhood to me. What she is doing in heaven, that place of infinite peace and beauty, I can only imagine. Often I muse that she might even be in on the design team for the coronation robes for the Lord Jesus when He returns to rule the nations. I smile when I think of that. Or, she might be designing alabaster pilasters, capitals, halls and courtyards where the kings of the earth will one day bring Him tribute. I do not know, only I cannot imagine her not busy!

Today, whoever you are that might read this post, honor your mother! Cherish her, and relegate to her all the affection your heart can muster! She will not always be here, but she is right now! Shower the people you love with love!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY