My Mom

In honor of Mother's Day, I would like to tell you about my mom.  My mom was a beautiful woman; physically, emotionally and spiritually.  When I was a young girl, she was described as a statuesque, auburn-haired, irish beauty.  She had big, beautiful, brown eyes and a smile that could light up a room.  When I got married at 21, her hair had gone to a golden gray but she still had that presence of classic beauty.  Towards the end, mom's hair went completely white and her once tall, statuesque body shrunk and bent because of osteoporosis but she was still beautiful and classy.  Mom had a great sense of humor.  She could get you to laugh on just about anything.  She always acted surprised that people thought she was funny but she knew she was.  She would get this small smirk on her face when we would start to laugh at something and then appear to be shocked that we would find it funny. On my birthday, she would tell me how old I could tell people I was so that she could shave years off her real age.  I recall that I was 35 years old for almost 10 years before she changed my age.  She had a kind and loving heart.  Her family were the most important people to her and she would do anything for them.  She was a stay at home mom when I was a girl and I never heard her complain about it.  We lived down the street from school and I would come home for lunch every day.  She would set up the tv trays in the living room and we would have lunch together.  When I was younger, mom loved her soap operas.  Her favorites were The Secret Storm and The Edge of Night. As she got older, her taste ran to CNN News, Judge Judy and college football, specifically Notre Dame college football. She was always a doodler and colorer as far back as I can remember. When she would get us coloring books, she would buy one for herself.  My gift to her every Christmas included new coloring books and a new pack of colorful sharpies.  She loved to dance and it was joyful to watch her and dad jitterbug at a party.  She loved my dad with all her heart.  Theirs was a true soul mate romance.  When he passed after 45 years of marriage, she never really got over the grief of his absence.  My mom had a deep faith in God and took us to church every Sunday.  She prayed the rosary and prayed to her special saint, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus.  I believe that my faith in God began with my mom's example. 

My mom has been gone now almost 5 years and I still remember our last conversation.  I remember her voice, her laugh and her touch when she hugged me goodbye.  I take it as a great compliment when I am told I sound or act like my mom.  Although I wish that she was still here with me, I am comforted knowing that she is my guardian angel and watching over me from heaven above.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom,  love Lala