Remembering my mom

Today, April 19th is my mom’s birthday.  I think of her and long to just hug her and have a long chat with her.  She went to heaven in 1993, so it has been quite some time since we had that opportunity.

So i wanted to think about some of the favorite things my mom taught me to love, that encapsulates her wonderful spirit:

• The beauty of flowers.  Mom loved having flower bouquets in a vase on the kitchen table.  Lillies of the valley were her absolute favorite flower.
• The joy of baking – Mom made the world’s greatest homemade bread.  I can remember my dad and i sitting around the kitchen table waiting for that hot bread fresh from the oven…. a tub of butter at the ready…. And nothing was better than her Swedish Rye.
• The love of fresh produce, home grown.  I will never forget as a young child the first time she made simple green beans with a bit of butter and salt.  OMG – nothing ever tasted that fresh and amazing.
• The honest treasure of her heritage. She was the daughter of immigrants from Russia, and she maintained her language skills, faith, heritage, and taught me the value of these things.
• Steadfast, unmovable, unshakable living – Mom had rheumatoid arthritis with hands and feet that were deformed from the disease, but to the end that did not slow her down… baking ,cooking ,cleaning, handcrafts …. she kept an immaculate home, and cooked like the best chef, in spite of the pain and struggle with her hands.  It taught me how she was a warrior  that fought through the challenges of this life to find victory.
• A kind and compassionate friend who always had a listening ear, and gentle advice.

Today my mom would have been 103 years old if she were on this earth.  It seems like it was just yesterday that she was here, yet it seems like it has been a lifetime since she has gone.  I cant believe she would be 103 today.  But i guess we are all getting older.  Happy birthday in heaven, mom.  I still miss you so much, but know you are free of the pain and struggle of this earthly body.  And one day I will see you again, hug you and we can have that chat I long for.