Miss you, Mom....

Today is the 11th anniversary of my mom's passing.  I've thought all day about how to mark the anniversary and what to write about tonight and thought it fitting to tell a little about my mom.  I still miss her, but the grief gets easier to deal with as the years pass.  My oldest daughter was just 2 years old and I was expecting my youngest child when my mom passed unexpectedly. 

Let me tell you a little about my mom.  She was one of the sweetest people I knew, but if you made her upset you'd know about that too.  Ever since I can remember, she was the one I went to for questions and advice.  Quite frequently she would be running out the door to choir practice, Bible study, and church, and I relished the time when my oldest daughter was young and we were able to spend weekends with my parents. 

This picture was taken when my mom and dad took a cruise to Alaska just 2 1/2 years before my dad passed and 3 years before my mom passed.  It was shortly after this cruise that my dad was diagnosed with stage 3 prostate cancer.  For the next 2 1/2 years, as dad went through treatment and eventually lost his battle, it was mom who was there to care for him.  Mom had a reserved strength that shone through during this time.

After my dad passed, mom did something she never dreamed she would be able to do - she took a trip with a music and drama group from our church to Bangladesh.  I still have the pictures and her notes from the trip.  She was gone for my daughter's 2nd birthday, but we celebrated a few days early before mom left. 

After mom returned from Bangladesh, she and I took a trip to Fort Worth, Texas, where I was born.  We drove by the house on Denver Street where we lived and spent some time sightseeing around town and visiting old friends. 

A couple of weeks after we returned from Texas, there was a weekend in which mom attended Women of Faith on Friday and Saturday, sang in the church choir for 3 services on Sunday morning, and attended a planning meeting of a Christian chorale she was singing with on Sunday afternoon.  She still found the time to come over to our house and watch the Broncos game with us.  She wanted to leave early before it got dark, though, as we lived on the opposite side of town.

When mom went to leave, her car wouldn't start.  My husband went out to the car to help her with it.  Once it got started, mom came back in one more time to give my daughter a hug.  Being 2 years old, my daughter was a little reluctant and my mom said, "Awe, break grandma's heart..."  Finally, my daughter let her have a hug and my mom left.  Little did I know that was last thing I would hear out of my mother's mouth.

The next morning, I got the call from my brother that my mom was at the hospital after having suffered a heart attack.  I won't go into the details of the following 4 days, but, on September 24, 1999, my mom passed. 

Although I still miss her, each day gets easier and the memories are good ones now.  If you still have your mom, cherish every moment with her.  If you do not, cherish the memories.