Issue 2012 #2
Table of Contents:
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Mom's the Word
She never outgrows the burden of love, and to the end she carries the weight of hope for those she bore.(Florida Scott-Maxwell)
"Mom! I slept in! Can you drive me to school?"
"Mom, I need a new notebook - for tomorrow."
"Mom, can I have a sleepover?"
Sound familiar? A mother's resume could well include chauffeur, chef, hostess, gardener, secretary, bookkeeper, head of housekeeping, nurse, volunteer, guidance counsellor, cheerleader, and teacher. Juggler - just one more attribute of the household engineer we simply call 'Mom'.
Our Grandmother took great joy and pride in her homemaking skills, and much to our benefit, passed this on to our Mother.
Mom's hospitality knew no bounds, and our home was often graced with the presence of guests for coffee, foster kids staying awhile, missionaries passing through, or folks needing a place to stay. Many years the family table included boarders, taken in to help with the finances.
Pragmatic to a fault, 'Mother's Day' meals were cooked joyfully for all of us, as, "I can feed the whole family for a week with what that one meal out would cost!"
There were times that she and Dad just did what they had to, and one of those was living for a time in a brother's garage, before trading their car in on the 'crooked house,' so named, as there wasn't a straight wall in it.
Mom's love of learning continued throughout life; books were her most prized possession, making eventual loss of vision a great sorrow to her. She had a strong interest in politics and world events, voting enthusiastically well into her eighties.
"Mom, you have treasured and kept every card, note and fridge art ever received, affirming our place of importance in your life.
Despite not having a lot of material wealth to work with, you made a house into a home with your organizational abilities and home management skills.
For all the years of helping us raise our children, washing our floors when desperate, listening, advising, and most of all praying, we are forever indebted to you."
- by Gayle Elliott (to honour her mother who went Home August 2011)
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