Picture: my mom when young; still have the shoes she is wearing.
Mom had wanted me to say a few words here for her service, but to keep this time of remembering her positive, light—and short! She certainly would not want anyone to go be put to any trouble, and if anything were done at all, then there should be something sweet and delicious to be enjoyed by the end.
I always marveled at obituaries seen in the newspapers, how a life could be summed up in a paragraph or two. And yet, when it comes to capturing my mother’s life, it seems difficult to do. She traveled all over this world with my father, enjoyed the Seahawks, Mariners and Huskies. She read, enjoyed mysteries and detective stories, and doing crafts like sewing all of those little sparkly things onto yearly calendars given out to family members.
She chose absurd gifts like a cat-clock whose tail wagged and eyes swiveled in time with the seconds, a ship made of little shells purchased in some port-of-call, or the wooden drum with some skin stretched over the top and a stick to beat it with, that I am sure seemed like a good idea at the time to buy for her son when she was in Africa.
Family was central for my mom, something that was more felt than spoken; but she spoke of it more with age and time. She loved family gatherings: food, time to see children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She worried over their difficulties in life and loved to see them happy. She always just wanted to see everyone be happy; that was supreme.
Her faith and church also grew with time. Her bible study group that she did not like at first, “they want me to talk about what this bible verse means to me, I just wanted to study the bible,” that changed to, “bible study is really interesting, it’s kind of like therapy!”
In fact learning new things was something that seemed to pick up speed as she got older. She operated her I-pad and kindle and smart phone. She was thrilled when she discovered she could receive a text I sent to her.
It really is a ridiculous notion that you could ever sum up a lifetime in words, there is more content than container. However, I did want to say a few words to acknowledge that (in how she described herself) this simple and unassuming woman had great significance to at least the three sons whom she bore, and to next generations of family, her many friends, and all those whose lives this gentle, heartfelt woman touched.
Now, I only hope this has been short and positive enough to suit her! And, for goodness sakes, she certainly would not want anyone to be sad or shed any tears on her account. Just be happy–and enjoy the sweets.