Twenty years ago today, my family and I gathered around a hospital bedside and quietly said goodbye to my Mom.
Twenty years.
It has gone so quickly, but it also seems like a painfully long time. I still miss her. She only made it to 65 before she passed – much too young – and too close to my current age (58) to not make me nervous.
She was one of those people who was a force of nature. She was wildly creative, funny, wise, and gave of herself so often that it was just a part of who she was.
I’ve shared this before, but it is a brief story that helps you know more about her than any other I can think of:
She had many health battles. One time, she had been in the hospital for a few days. She got discharged. Later that day I came home to see her, and she wasn’t there.
I asked my dad, “Where’s mom?”
“Oh, she’s taking dinner to the Jones family.”
And that’s how she rolled.
Yesterday’s “Light the World” challenge was, “Think of someone who is an example of Christlike service. Highlight their example on social media.”
There you go. A day late, but it works for me.
We truly don’t know very much about what will go on in the next life and the eternities. Sometimes I am amazed at how hard we work to achieve something so nebulous. Yet the promise of being reunited with our families is truly a driving force for my hope and my faith.
She was gone before my youngest, and any of my grandchildren were born. They got cheated.
I want to see my mom again. I have so many things I would like to talk to her about. The conversation would be so different now that I have more life experience under my belt, and some grandchildren of my own.
Twenty years is a long time. Eventually the memory of her voice has gotten faint, and the frequency of thinking of her has diminished. That said, I see her every day in some of the things that I, and my siblings, say and do.
If your Mom is still around, give her a call, or if you are so lucky, give her a hug.
Time is fleeting.
(Off to work – with red eyes)
She sounds awesome! Thanks for the reminder to show extra love to our parents.
Beautifully expressed. We have fond and fun memories of your parents and your family!
I like to think my parents knew my grandchildren prior to them coming to earth. I know they are always close by even though I don’t see them. Their influence never goes away!
I lost my mom to cancer coming up on 4 years on New Years day (she loved the Rose Parade so it’s appropriate that she went out on that day). I’m sorry for your pain but grateful for your wonderful memories and experiences with a queen of a woman. <3
Like you, I look forward to seeing my mother again, with a significantly different understanding and viewpoint as life has tutored me. I look forward to seeing her more clearly, and vice versa. Thanks for your post!