A week ago Sunday was Mother’s Day, Sunday there was a solar
eclipse and next Sunday will be my mother’s birthday. The last time there was
a solar eclipse visible in western US was 10 May 1994. My mother was visiting
me at the time. That trip was the last time I saw her healthy. Less than six
months later she was dead. So excuse me if I spend some words and space to talk
about my mother. I am missing her.
She was on the short side, about 5 feet 4 inches. She had
red hair and temper to match it at times. She had freckles to match the red
hair too. Her hair was always on the short side. She kept it all, it just
turned a nice shade of white eventually.
She was a military wife. Dad went to Korea in 1950
and there were lots of temporary duty assignments in his 25 year career when she was left alone to
take care of my brother and I and home.
In 1957 she started have health problems, surgery for this
and then that and then something else. Looking back some could have been
lessened with better diet, we had too many meat and potato dinners growing up.
Some could have been avoided by never smoking, but didn’t know things about
smoking back then. She quit smoking
about 1970. She smoked Parliaments.
It was kind of scary for a 7-8 year old to have their mother
laid up in bed from surgeries. My brother and I had to help with household
chores more and take care of mom too until dad got home. She didn’t like being
laid up, didn’t complain, wasn’t hard to be around, just not so physically
active. We would go in and talk to her like as if at kitchen table with all the
‘news’ of the day at school and whatever else we were doing.
She taught me how to bake and cook, how to set a proper
table and use the correct utensils in the correct order. Both parents passed on
a love of reading. Books were also used to balance on my head to learn correct
posture when walking. Nothing got me to sit up straight though. Learned how to
carry a full cup on a saucer without spilling a drop. We made cookies, pies and
cakes – ok, she made and I helped some and then more as I got older. We shared
licking the batter off the beaters and laugh about it. She made really good
fruit cakes, much better than the really heavy ones you buy in store. Recipe
lost somewhere. She taught me to sew and knit. I wasn’t really interested, but
still can do either one when have to.
She was a good mother for the most part. Generally a nice
lady, but could out swear a sailor. Her artistic creativity was expressed in
sewing clothes and eventually oil paintings.
She would like this blog and understand why I do it.
