Community Chat

[TuesdayTaylor]

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@rrpell wrote:

My mom, who passed away several years ago, was fond of one line.   It was her cure all, her panacea.  She believed in living in the present.  She didn't want us to dwell in the past or project what might happen in the future.  I remember her telling me to "Be here now".

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@rrpell - thank you for sharing that, it's very helpful to me!  I will remember it!

[WSfan]

My mom passed away almost 3 years ago. Both she and my dad grew up not well off, so I know that my sister and I had a better childhood than they both did. We did not get everything that we wanted, but had everything that we needed. My mom was an excellent cook and baker. We always had something sweet for dessert, to finish off the meal. Homemade cookies were always around. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, not uncommon in the era in which I grew up. We came home from school for lunch, which was always waiting for us when we got there. Our house was immaculate, and to this day we still call her the 'white tornado'! After my dad passed, she lived by herself for 15+ years, quite capable of taking care of herself and the one and only house that they purchased together. My mom never learned how to drive, so I would see her at least once a week to do our weekly errands. We had such good times together and I cherish those times we had. We certainly had a lot of laughs. She was a sweet (although not a push over), loving, and generous woman to her 2 children, 9 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild, who unfortunately, will not remember her. How my mom loved her great-granddaughter. I talked to her daily. I miss hearing her voice, yet I know that she and my dad are my guardian angels. When she passed, nothing would be the same again, but I feel that my sister and I have done a good job at carrying on and creating new family traditions. After all, as my mom would say "Life goes on."

[Susan in California]

My mother died of ovarian cancer when I was twenty three.  She was only fifty five.

She missed out on so much as we all did.  She never knew her grandchildren,

or how we all turned out as adults.  My dad very quickly re married a very nice woman fourteen years his junior.  So I did have a step-mother, but it was never the same as having one's own mother.

My mother had met my father while in graduate school and my dad in law scfhool at UC Berkeley.  She helped my dad get his career started but then deicated herself to raising her family.  I have many memories of her funny expressions and wise advice.  I always wanted to look like her, but I looked exactly like my dad.

[luvdoodles]

I am so lucky to still have my mom. She is 83 but acts and looks much younger. She can make me laugh like no one else. I can't imagine life without her. I dread that day. We can talk for hours on the phone. Going to see her today, I know it will be a fun day.

[qualitygal]

One area: my mom never had access to a computer. So many experiences she didn't get to have. She was content with her friends on the phone, and her bingo games. She actually talked to people, was one of the most loved and helpful people I've ever known. I want to be a lot like her.

[Hearts4Me]

I lost my mom way back in 1972 when I was just 11 years old.  My memories are obviously limited, but she is with me in my heart and mind every single day.  Always wonder how life could have been for me, but I am lucky to have 3 great boys....and I know she's proud and watching from above.  However, obviously the impact of her death on my life is beyond immense.

[wagirl]

I have good memories of my mom up to 1994, when she had a huge mental melt down and told her 3 kids, myself and my 2 brothers, that she didn't want to see us again!! So for the next 20 years , I didn't see her or even speak to her, per her wishes. She died 2 years ago in an assisted nursing place and we never reconciled. She had 6 grands and 1 great grand and never bothered with them either in those 20 years. Needless to say I am and was angry about that, but she's gone now and so are those feelings. I am very sorry she was so unhappy and sorry she couldn't seem to take the help that was offered to her. But she was a better mom and grandma then she thought she was prior to 1994.

[MaggieMack]

@wagirl, I am sorry for the estrangement from your mother. It was some form of mental illness that caused this, not you to your brothers or her inability to love. (((Hugs))) to you on this Mother's Day.

PS: Your little piggy eating ice cream avatar is adorable!

[IamMrsG]

This, to the nth degree, was my mother:

“I had the meanest mother in the world.  While other kids had candy for breakfast, I had to eat cereal, eggs and toast.  While other kids had cakes and candy for lunch, I had a sandwich.  As you can guess, my dinner was different from other kids’ dinner, too.

My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times.  You would think that we were on chain gang or something.  She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing.

I am ashamed to admit it, but she actually had the nerve to break the child labor law.  She had us work.  We had to wash dishes, make the beds and learn how to cook.  That woman must have stayed awake at night thinking up things for us to do.

By the time we were teenagers, she was much wiser and our life became more unbearable. None of this tooting the car horn for us to come running; she embarrassed us to no end by insisting that friends come to the door to get us.

I forgot to mention that most of our friends were allowed to date at the mature age of 12 or 13, but our old-fashioned mother refused to let us date until we were 15.  She really raised a bunch of squares.  None of us were ever arrested for shoplifting or busted for dope.  And whom do we have this to think for this?  You’re right, our mean mother.

I am trying to raise my children to stand a little bit straighter and walk taller.  I am secretly tickled pink when they call me mean.  I thank God for giving me the meanest mother in the world.  Our country doesn’t need a good five cent cigar.  It needs more mothers like mine.  Blessings on that wonderful woman.”      --Author unknown

Thanks, Mom!  

[panda1234]

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@qvcfreak wrote:

My mom passed away a few years ago but I have so many great memories with her. As a child laying outside on a blanket looking at the clouds and on that same blanket making doll clothes. As a teenager excited about the clothes she made us from shorts, tops to dresses. The holidays were always so much fun and after I got married my husband worked Saturday's so I was blessed to have breakfast with her every Saturday from my late 20's until she passed away at age 74. How I miss. Thanks for the walk down memory lane. 

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How sweet, Saturday breakfast with your mom. Moms are just the best, no one else like them.