In Memory of Our Moms

Mother’s Day is Sunday. It’s a day to honor all the mothers out there. It’s a day for you to thank your mom for all she has done. It is a day to thank her and show her your appreciation for all the sleepless nights that she stayed up with as a baby or when you had that 104 fever from the flu and her heart was breaking because she couldn’t make you feel better. To thank her for paying for, driving you to and from, and showing up to every activity and sport you were involved in. For thanking her for the times that you made her question her little bit of sanity as you threw a fit for the 15th time that day. To thank her for not leaving in the woods and abandoning you as a teenager when you rolled your eyes at her. A day to show mom that although most days it feels like thankless, it is not, because you see her, you see how hard she works, how she never complains, never stops, to show her just how much she means to you. One of the hardest things about Mothers Day is when your mom, your rock, is gone. Mothers Day becomes a day to cause you more pain, because the person you are supposed to celebrate on that day is gone. I was raised by a single mother so for mothers day I tried to spoil her when I could, because for her she had to be both mother and father to me and my brother. It’s been 3 years since I lost my mom and this year will be my 3rd Mothers Day without her. I still buy her flowers for Mothers Day every year, because she loved flowers, they always made her so happy. And even though she is gone, it just wouldn’t feel right to let the day go by without celebrating her in some way, because it’s important to keep her memory alive. You see when they are gone, all you have is those memories and they become more precious than gold. The memories of our moms become how we hold, how we keep from forgetting them. The more we talk about them and remember them, the more they stay alive. So for a special article for Mothers Day I decided to ask a handful of people whose moms have passed on if they would like to share a favorite memory of their mother as tribute to her and all the moms who are no longer with us. I would also like to share two of my favorite memories of my mom; my mom loved all things, movies and theatre, a love she passed on to me, so the Academy Awards was her bread and butter and she looked forward to that one Sunday every year. When I was growing up, each year for the Academy Awards People Magazine would put a ballot in their magazine for people watching at home to vote on who they thought would win. My mom would go buy a copy and me and her would vote on who we thought would win. Her with her People Magazine ballot, me writing down my choices on a sheet of paper. Would we order some food and sit down and watch the whole show. I loved it cause not only did I get to stay up late, cause the awards show always ran long, but I got to spend some quality time with my mom. When I was in my junior year of high school, there was only one thing I wanted more than anything, a class ring. I don’t know how to explain it, but I was obsessed with having to have one. But I knew it was probably not going to happen. My mom was a single mom with no help whatsoever from my father, so a $200+ ring just wasn’t something that my mom could afford. I was sad, but I knew that she would if she could, so I let it go. Fast forward a few months and it was class ring ordering week at school. I tried not to get sad that I wasn’t getting one, but I was. One night my mom came up to me in my room and asked what time my lunch period was. I told her and asked her why, and she smiled and said “meet me at the office, we’re ordering your class ring tomorrow”. I’m pretty sure I squealed and thanked her 6 million times. She told me to pick out what I wanted from the brochure, she never gave a price range, just told me to get what I wanted. I was so happy when we ordered it, I finally had my dream class ring. I found out years later, exactly what my mom had to do to make my dream happen. She took on extra typing, cleaning, and odd jobs, to save and scrimp to get the money for the ring. Her baby wanted a class ring and she was determined to make it happen.

One of my favorite memories with my mom was playing “Right Turn, Left Turn.” Of course, this was back in the late 1990’s, when gasoline wasn’t so expensive. Any time we wanted to get out of the house, we’d hop in her car, with no predetermined destination. From the moment she backed out of her driveway, she’d ask, “Right turn or left turn?” I would make a random choice, and at each corner or intersection, I’d say, “Right turn,” “Left turn,” or “Straight ahead.” The game ended whenever she got tired or when we passed by a place that caught our attention, like an ice cream shop, a friend’s house, or a museum,…). Then we’d simply go back home and chat about the things we did and saw during our excursion. It was a great way to spend time together, but it was also a great way to get to know our city and surroundings as well.-Laura D

So many special memories with my mom growing up. But I think my favorite memory is seeing her finally unburdened with raising three kids. She didn’t have to work so hard anymore as we had grown up and were moving out. It was wonderful to see her retire from her job and spend her time and money on herself. She got that big Cadillac that she always wanted. She also got a little convertible sports car. She bought jewelry. She got an inground swimming pool. She started wearing fancier clothes and “treating”herself instead of sinking every dime and all her time into taking care of us. I’m just so glad that she got to spend her golden years living the life she deserved. Jim N

Arguing with my sister about who would get to hold mom’s “pretty” hand while crossing the street. (This would be the hand adorned with her many rings lol). The look of pure, uncontrollable joy on my mom’s face when my wife and I announced our first pregnancy to her and my dad. Like, if you shook up a full, brand new coke bottle and slowly unscrewed the top – that is the only metaphor I can think of that could come close to describing her mirth in that moment. The memory I have the most conflicted emotions about is, without a doubt, the final memory I have of her. It was the worst pain I have ever felt, and yet I wouldn’t take it back. Holding and squeezing my mom’s hand while she held and squeezed mine back. Asking her if she wanted us to turn off the machines that were helping her fight for life and hearing her strong, defiant grunt of “uh-uh” – an indication that she still had fight within her. Kissing her on the top of the head and saying, “I love you, mama.” Hearing her say, “I love you too, baby.” If my presence gave her any comfort at all in those dreadful moments, then I would go through it all again. I am immensely proud to call her, mom- Chad W

When I had finally gotten sober and told my mom how well I was doing and chairing my NA meetings. The look on her face let me know how proud of me she actually was. Even though she made sure to tell me every time she saw me. But that moment. I’ll never forget the look on her face. – Ian R

My most vivid memory of my mother concerns a special German dish called (in our family, at least) grutrunzels. They were homemade bread dough, with cooked ground beef, onions, etc., inside, made into little balls and baked. They were the most delicious things you can imagine, and she made them for special occasions. Those occasions – when she’d make what I loved to eat most – are my favorite memory of her.- Jack B