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| Happy Mother's Day Mom! |
This is my favorite picture of my mom. It was taken from a snapshot of her and my dad when they came to visit us here in Texas many years ago. I loved my mom. She was a wonderful person. However, we were very different.
Mom was friendly (would talk to anyone about anything), sociable, and loved to dress up. She believed things were black and white - no in-between. We differed. While I'm not unfriendly, I tend to be quiet (more like my British dad), could care less about the social aspects of things, and really don't care to dress up. And when it came to black and white issues - IMO, everything is gray.
My mom was a good cook. Her signature dish (if one wants to call it that since we all requested it annually) was her oyster pie. We always had oyster pie (not oyster patties as is the norm in N.O.) on Thanksgiving and Christmas. She also made wonderful oyster stuffing. But I don't think mom liked to cook as such. She could cook, but it wasn't her favorite thing to do. And she kept an immaculate house. We used to call the front room 'the museum' when I was growing up. Of course in the 50's and 60's we had formal living rooms... which were only used for company. Mama was the typical 60's house-wife - always dressed well and had dinner on the table for my dad when he came home from work.
Growing up in New Orleans in the 50's and 60's was good. We weren't rich, but dad had a good job and we didn't go without. Life was different then. Integration and segregation was an issue. We lived with it, but being children, we weren't totally aware. Looking back, it's sad how unaware we were. I don't recall mom (or dad) ever commenting on the issue - at least not in front of me.
But no matter our differences, I do miss her. She moved in with us here in Texas when she was 80... and lived with us until she was 93. The last few years were difficult as mama was diagnosed with Alzheimer's (which explained a lot in retrospect) and since I was working, eventually went into a 'memory care' unit at at really nice nursing home nearby. However, I regret to this day that I didn't just quit my job and keep her at home with me. Hindsight. I'd visit every day and we'd have tea on the porch. But she was never happy there. Don't think she'd have been even at home, but still...
Happy Mother's Day Mama!
I don't think we ever get over the loss of our mother (parents, really). You have some wonderful memories, no matter that the two of you had differences of opinions. Happy Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteNice memories, Rian.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a nice Mother's Day post. I have a lot of regrets concerning my mother. I wish so much I had talked her into moving in with Poppy and me. I think that is what she really wanted instead of moving into the assisted living facility here. Wish I had spent more time with her. I just didn't think she would be gone so soon. Your mom was a beautiful lady.
ReplyDeleteMy mother got cancer in her late years and the last year she was at home, but it was far from me and my siblings bore the responsibility of caring for her. She was calmer and more thoughtful in her later years. You are blessed to have to a Mother to remember.
ReplyDeleteYour mother sounds like she was a gift to you, and the fact that she lived such a long life makes it seem like you had so many years of her to enjoy. At least until the last part. My mother died at 69, so I didn't get enough of her. Thank you for sharing your mother with me on her day. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments concerning this post. I don't talk about family much, but Mom deserved a Mother's Day mention. She was a great mom... and a strong woman who had to live through the death of not only her husband, but both my sister and brother to cancer.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you cared for your mom tenderly in her elder years, there is sometimes no easy solution about where elderly relatives will live. I am a volunteer visitor at a retirement/memory care home so as a senior I know I want to stay at home.
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