Sunday, March 11, 2018
Mom
When I think of my mom, I always think of her strength. She faced so many obstacles in life, first being her health issues. She was born with a congenital heart defect, that wasn’t discovered until late in life. She was actually pregnant with my youngest brother when it was discovered and the doctors were shocked that she defied the odds by having children. That was Mom, she always defied the odds. I remember, as a child, just always feeling safe with her. Mom liked to always say “it will get better”. Always! She had such a positive attitude, she may have been crumbling inside, but she would never show it! She was brave...so brave! She went through 4 major surgeries, one for an aortic aneurysm. I went with her to surgery consultation and I remember the doctor describing how difficult the surgery was and the recovery. They actually give you a choice of having the surgery or living with the aneurysm, praying it will never burst. The doctor asked Mom what her decision was and she said “Well do I have a choice, I want to live, so let’s do it”. I was more of basket case than Mom. She just was so brave. I want to remember my Sunday mornings on Hewlett Point Beach with her in the summer, years and years ago. We would go early in the morning with the papers and magazines, breakfast...just the two of us. It was our routine. She loved the beach. She loved to cook...always watched the cooking shows. She had a great laugh...I loved hearing that laugh. She was artistic too...she could draw...I remember she would draw my cover pages when I was a child for my reports. She could draw people and she did it really well...it’s something most people don’t about her....she didn’t do it much at all and never pursued it. It’s because of Mom, I came to love Elvis Presley. She loved him growing up and instilled that love in me. She would sneak me down with her at night sometimes, to watch an Elvis movie with her if it was on TV. I will just miss talking with her..,just talking and laughing. She lived in the moment, never really planning for the future, probably because of her many health issues. She worked hard for everything she did have....she always said “what’s money, if you don’t have your health”. And that’s how she lived...moment by moment. My mom wasn’t just my mom, growing up, she was my best-friend...my hero. I have always admired her...her work ethic...her character...her kindness, her personality. I just love her so much! I was always so proud of her ...she was beautiful inside and out...she was such a good mom...encouraging..loving...fun she was such a good woman.
