What a daunting task to try to sum up some memories of my mother. It's been said that a mother's influence is incalculable, and I believe it! For those of you who attended Mom's funeral, I put a lot of my memories into her life sketch. But that is just such a tiny portion of the memories I have of Mom.
Some of my earliest memories are of sitting around our table at the house in Pasco with Mom showing us some matching clothes for me and my two sisters. My Uncle Jim said we were always "color coded." We had matching outfits in different colors. Our early family portraits showed the family in some sort of matching clothes, usually she had a hand in making them.
Many of my memories are of working with mom. Sometimes it was changing water on the farm, or doing dishes together, or endlessly sitting in the front room on the floor tackling crafts. It didn't matter what kind of work we were doing - we were doing it together, and Mom made it fun. We would laugh and talk and sing songs.
Mom had such a creative flair that it permeated EVERYTHING she did. She was my Brownie leader and we had the BEST crafts and the most FUN activities. I always knew that I was one of the lucky kids that had a cool mom! Mom was also one of my 4-H leaders, and everything we did, right down to the names we gave our animals, fit in with some fun, creative theme that Mom had cooked up. I remember one year our displays all went along with a rock-band theme, and our pigs had names of rock stars. She made such an effort to understand us at our level. Mom was also the CPT president when I was in elementary school. I remember helping her decorate for various events. It seems like she was involved in every aspect of our lives - school, friends, and fun.
Mom loved to take her kids shopping. I remember spending lots of time hunting for bargains and trying on clothes. Before school started each year she would take us somewhere special to shop; a few times we went to Yakima, we also went to the outlets at Post Falls. My favorite shopping events were for formal dances. She had a knack for picking out dresses that would be just perfect. Our shopping trips always included going out to eat at our current favorite restaurant. As a teen I remember going to La Comida a lot.
Some of my favorite memories as a young girl are the times when it was my turn to go with Mom to a bazaar - just me and her. It was special Mom & Me time. I liked to help her set up the displays and make change for her customers. I remember once taking some of Grandma Bates' dolls to sell. When things got slow I'd crawl under the display and wiggle the arms or feet of the dolls when people would walk by just to draw some attention.
Learning to cook with mom was a family affair. She would have each of us girls (and the boys when they were old enough) sit up around the counter and work on making a salad, or grating cheese, or doing some other part of the dinner. She was at her best when cooking a large family dinner and all of us kids would be making this or that salad while she was preparing the rolls. I remember our tiny kitchen before Dad remodeled it. Somehow Mom and the three girls were able to all work together in a space about the size of a bathtub. I guess close quarters helps tie families together. She was so thrilled to have her big kitchen when Dad finished it.
During my teen years I remember our family being very busy. Mom loved to see her kids trying new things and excelling in sports, or school, or whatever they were interested in. We had a huge calendar that she would pull off of the wall during dinner and we would plan out how to get everyone where they needed to be. It was a lot of juggling, and now that I'm a mother I sometimes wonder how she did it. But that was just her way - she wanted us to do well in everything so she made it work. I never had a question about whether my parents would want to support me in some new venture. It was always a given.
I think I grew to appreciate Mom even more as I became a mother. After having my first baby she came to stay at our home in Pocatello. She stocked our freezer full of meals, shared stories & motherly advice, and even made some bumper pads for the crib that I hadn't gotten to. I was so sad when she had to go home. I remember my husband witnessing it all and just saying "wow." But that was mom. Everything she did was "wow."
When I turned 18 and chose to join the LDS Church, I was a little surprised when my Mom asked to say the closing prayer at my baptismal service. I guess as a self-centered teen I hadn't realized the changes that she was going through. From that point on, Mom came to church with me. Her faith meant a lot to her and she adapted her life to it. One of my treasured memories was being her escort when she went through the temple for the first time. The gospel is very family-centered, which for my mom was already a natural part of her life. She loved to serve people and did a lot to serve in her church ward.
It's not easy to say goodbye to someone who shaped your life in such meaningful ways. I'm just thankful to know that families can be together forever, if we simply follow God's plan for us.
Some of my earliest memories are of sitting around our table at the house in Pasco with Mom showing us some matching clothes for me and my two sisters. My Uncle Jim said we were always "color coded." We had matching outfits in different colors. Our early family portraits showed the family in some sort of matching clothes, usually she had a hand in making them.
Many of my memories are of working with mom. Sometimes it was changing water on the farm, or doing dishes together, or endlessly sitting in the front room on the floor tackling crafts. It didn't matter what kind of work we were doing - we were doing it together, and Mom made it fun. We would laugh and talk and sing songs.
Mom had such a creative flair that it permeated EVERYTHING she did. She was my Brownie leader and we had the BEST crafts and the most FUN activities. I always knew that I was one of the lucky kids that had a cool mom! Mom was also one of my 4-H leaders, and everything we did, right down to the names we gave our animals, fit in with some fun, creative theme that Mom had cooked up. I remember one year our displays all went along with a rock-band theme, and our pigs had names of rock stars. She made such an effort to understand us at our level. Mom was also the CPT president when I was in elementary school. I remember helping her decorate for various events. It seems like she was involved in every aspect of our lives - school, friends, and fun.
Mom loved to take her kids shopping. I remember spending lots of time hunting for bargains and trying on clothes. Before school started each year she would take us somewhere special to shop; a few times we went to Yakima, we also went to the outlets at Post Falls. My favorite shopping events were for formal dances. She had a knack for picking out dresses that would be just perfect. Our shopping trips always included going out to eat at our current favorite restaurant. As a teen I remember going to La Comida a lot.
Some of my favorite memories as a young girl are the times when it was my turn to go with Mom to a bazaar - just me and her. It was special Mom & Me time. I liked to help her set up the displays and make change for her customers. I remember once taking some of Grandma Bates' dolls to sell. When things got slow I'd crawl under the display and wiggle the arms or feet of the dolls when people would walk by just to draw some attention.
Learning to cook with mom was a family affair. She would have each of us girls (and the boys when they were old enough) sit up around the counter and work on making a salad, or grating cheese, or doing some other part of the dinner. She was at her best when cooking a large family dinner and all of us kids would be making this or that salad while she was preparing the rolls. I remember our tiny kitchen before Dad remodeled it. Somehow Mom and the three girls were able to all work together in a space about the size of a bathtub. I guess close quarters helps tie families together. She was so thrilled to have her big kitchen when Dad finished it.
During my teen years I remember our family being very busy. Mom loved to see her kids trying new things and excelling in sports, or school, or whatever they were interested in. We had a huge calendar that she would pull off of the wall during dinner and we would plan out how to get everyone where they needed to be. It was a lot of juggling, and now that I'm a mother I sometimes wonder how she did it. But that was just her way - she wanted us to do well in everything so she made it work. I never had a question about whether my parents would want to support me in some new venture. It was always a given.
I think I grew to appreciate Mom even more as I became a mother. After having my first baby she came to stay at our home in Pocatello. She stocked our freezer full of meals, shared stories & motherly advice, and even made some bumper pads for the crib that I hadn't gotten to. I was so sad when she had to go home. I remember my husband witnessing it all and just saying "wow." But that was mom. Everything she did was "wow."
When I turned 18 and chose to join the LDS Church, I was a little surprised when my Mom asked to say the closing prayer at my baptismal service. I guess as a self-centered teen I hadn't realized the changes that she was going through. From that point on, Mom came to church with me. Her faith meant a lot to her and she adapted her life to it. One of my treasured memories was being her escort when she went through the temple for the first time. The gospel is very family-centered, which for my mom was already a natural part of her life. She loved to serve people and did a lot to serve in her church ward.
It's not easy to say goodbye to someone who shaped your life in such meaningful ways. I'm just thankful to know that families can be together forever, if we simply follow God's plan for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment