Remembering the Opinions and the Joy
I’m missing my mom today — that kind of missing that makes your heart just ache. I think about her every single day but today is her Birthday so she’s especially top of mind.
I’ve written about my mom a lot. We had a very honest, some might say too honest relationship. It could be contentious of course but it always turned back to that deep kind of love that makes you feel so grateful you have that someone in your corner.
She could read me like no one else and I miss her presence more than I think I realize. She wasn’t a complicated woman but she had strong opinions.
She loved hot dogs, it didn’t matter they were bad for you
She knew sports — she actually understood football
She made great spaghetti
She once got so mad that she threw a cake at the wall
She loved every single holiday
She was a cancer survivor
She loved to say something was “woo-woo” when it was a bit ‘out there’
She was one of the first nurse practitioners in Illinois
She made it clear you could not live in her house if you didn’t vote
She loved nursing maybe more than mothering
She belonged to the same bookclub for decades
She was a decent painter
She loved being a grandmother
She told my dad he was “the center of his own universe” for years
She loved to travel
She’d be freaking furious with the Supreme Court
She was always in search of a glazed doughnut
She always took me with her to sign up neighbors to vote
She’d be happy that we were happy
She loved experiences — not gifts
She would have been devastated by Covid
She said she’d happily get arrested protesting for abortion rights
She loved any kind of pie, most especially strawberry rhubarb and lemon meringue
She used the comeback, “Anticipation is half the joy” when we’d whine
She hated baby-talk until Tessa came along
She was fiercely loyal to old friends and always kept in touch
She loved her siblings and missed her parents
She said, “Patience is a virtue” a lot
She talked a lot about her grandparents, Laura Alice and Elza Pearl
She said her worst day of nursing was seeing a lobotomy
She drank gin and tonic in the summer and scotch and water in the winter
She believed everything in moderation
She kept every letter her parents wrote to her after they moved to CA
She taught me to drive in the Jewel parking lot
She could find a Dairy Queen on every family road trip
She’d ask you flat out who you voted for
She made pancakes with hot syrup at every campsite
She loved to read, mostly fiction
She loved to snuggle with us — we called it cuddle wuddle
She’d say, “Balance is key” while holding out her arms like she was balancing on a beam
So, yes, I’m missing this amazing woman most especially today. Remembering her as a strong amazing and opinionated woman always helps me channel her on days like today. I know she’s always in my corner.
