Friday, May 6, 2011

A Mother's Day Post

Random Things My Mother Taught Me:

1. How to stand on my head
2. To always extend my right hand when shaking someone’s hand and to look them in the eye NOT at their hand
3. You wear white from Memorial Day to Labor Day
4. When having my picture taken, to always stand with one foot forward
5. Butterfly kisses
6. That she was not put on this earth to entertain me
7. That she could rip my arm off and beat me with the bloody end should I do something wrong
8. That church was more important than a sleep over at someone’s house
9. When wearing open toed shoes, to always have my toe nails painted
10. That jewelry can pull together an outfit
11. That I can be friends with someone, or even related to someone, and not agree with them 100% of the time
12. That it truly is better to give than to receive
13. That there is a time I should speak up and a time to not say anything – even if I am right
14. To make my bed every day
15. That it doesn’t matter what a person looks like, it matters is how the person treats me
16. To spend $5.00 on a gift that someone would love rather than spend $50.00 on a gift just because it cost more
17. Going barefoot in the summer time
18. How to harmonize
19. How she didn’t enjoy her History classes when she was in school either, but I still had to pass them with a C or better
20. Don’t let anyone tell me I can’t do something just because I am a girl

Thanks, Mom!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree

I met her the night she flew to town to go to our wedding.

She was a small, petite thing with very pretty eyes.

She had already had her stroke, so I didn’t know her any different.

Between the wedding and the time of the birth of my daughter, I had only been with her a couple of times. She lived in Florida and us in California and then Key West.

I remember when she came to Key West after the baby was born. It was Palm Sunday and we were having the baby Christened. It was quite an event to have all the kids walking in with their palm branches and Scott and I following with Courtney in her Christening gown. When I laid Courtney in her arms for the first time, she looked and Scott and me and said “Oh, My! Isn’t she beautiful!”

She had me wrapped around her little finger ever since then.

She would sing songs to Courtney and whenever we were at the dinner table, all of her grandsons were to remove their hats.

According to her grandsons, she was the best Grandma on the face of the earth. She would make them homemade waffles and plop a scoop of chocolate ice cream in the middle of it. She kept Cracker Jacks in the pantry. She loved her boys!

Even when we visited this past Thanksgiving, and she had no idea who Courtney was, her face lit up when she saw her.

She passed away this morning. I am sad to think that I will never see those pretty eyes again, or hear her sing Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree.

But I am excited that she is in Heaven!

And I am positive when she got there, she looked around and said “Oh, My! Isn’t it beautiful!”