Until I see her again
I haven't seen her tombstone but I can imagine it has these words on them:
Born July 3, 1949
Died August 29, 2003
Beloved Wife, Mother, and Grandmother.
Those words or some words like them are what were chosen to sum up my mother's life. Sitting here tonight, this thought seems to cheapen my mother's memory. It angers me that her life would be summed up by a few words like "Beloved Wife, Mother, and Grandmother." What happened to "daughter" or "aunt" or "friend" or "nurse." She was all of those things and more. Although she had no medical training, my mother nursed me back to health countless times and knew more about the medical field than most of the nurses and doctors we encountered in the hospital. She was my friend and often my only one. We would go to my doctor appointments together or sit in my hospital rooms together and play cards or other games.
She was my encourager. She tried to never let me underestimate myself. Balanced with her wisdom, I received the courage from her to branch out and try new things like going away to college. I may have started at a small 2-year college only 15 minutes from home but I lived on campus. When I had completed my 2 years there, I took another step and transferred to a state school with 13,000 students and lived right off campus in student apartments. This school was 1 hour and 45 minutes from home. While there I traveled to Washington, D.C. and New Orleans and Florida. I spent one summer studying at U.C. Berkeley (all the way on the opposite coast) and the next summer working in D.C. I could never have done those things without my mother's encouragement and her support.
As with most of us, I tend to think of my mother in terms of her faults. However, I will try to keep in mind all the wonderful gifts she gave me until I see her again.
Born July 3, 1949
Died August 29, 2003
Beloved Wife, Mother, and Grandmother.
Those words or some words like them are what were chosen to sum up my mother's life. Sitting here tonight, this thought seems to cheapen my mother's memory. It angers me that her life would be summed up by a few words like "Beloved Wife, Mother, and Grandmother." What happened to "daughter" or "aunt" or "friend" or "nurse." She was all of those things and more. Although she had no medical training, my mother nursed me back to health countless times and knew more about the medical field than most of the nurses and doctors we encountered in the hospital. She was my friend and often my only one. We would go to my doctor appointments together or sit in my hospital rooms together and play cards or other games.
She was my encourager. She tried to never let me underestimate myself. Balanced with her wisdom, I received the courage from her to branch out and try new things like going away to college. I may have started at a small 2-year college only 15 minutes from home but I lived on campus. When I had completed my 2 years there, I took another step and transferred to a state school with 13,000 students and lived right off campus in student apartments. This school was 1 hour and 45 minutes from home. While there I traveled to Washington, D.C. and New Orleans and Florida. I spent one summer studying at U.C. Berkeley (all the way on the opposite coast) and the next summer working in D.C. I could never have done those things without my mother's encouragement and her support.
As with most of us, I tend to think of my mother in terms of her faults. However, I will try to keep in mind all the wonderful gifts she gave me until I see her again.
posted by Amanda Brady | 2:33 AM
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