A Tribute To Mother

I had planned a trip to Temple to give my stepdad a break from his care of Mother this past week. I intended to arrive Tuesday morning and leave Thursday evening but before I left the house that Tuesday morning he called to say Mother was talking out of her head and had been for 48 hours. When I arrived the room was dark, Grandaddy was weeping in the recliner beside her and she was babbling incoherently. I leaned over her and she said, "Oh, you did come." I asked her who I was and she said, "Sherrie." As she began to babble again, I asked her to slow down so I could understand her and she said, "You don't understand, there is so much light in here." As the days passed, Mother would have moments of lucidity where she knew everyone and could converse very rationally. She told her beloved sister, Jane as she left from a visit, "I love you. Take care of your family. Enjoy every moment." She asked me and her sister-in-law, "Do you see that light?" She called out to her brother and mother (who had passed many years ago), "John, Mother, I'm coming home now." Those are beautiful words of comfort to those of us left behind.

My mother was the youngest daughter of 11 children. She was number 9. She married at 16 to my dad and never finished high school. Because of that she always felt like she just wasn't very intelligent but nothing could be further from the truth. My mother - until the week of her death - was sharp as a tack. She had a great memory. She made my sister and I dresses from the time we were little girls and many times with no pattern. She was an excellent cook and could arrange flowers and paint ceramics with the best of them.

My mother was a simple person. She had only traveled to two states in her life and really didn't care. She loved her home, she loved her family and she was content. I never heard her complain about what she hadn't done or couldn't do - she just enjoyed what she had and where she was.

She found love again with my stepdad, Shelby. He adored her and treated her in a way that she had always longed for and deserved. In the first years of their marriage he had cancer and lost his youngest son and she cared for him. In the last years he cared for her. The middle years were spent serving others. They were the most giving people you would ever know. They loved their church and they loved their family - that's where their hearts were. As mother's world closed in due to her vision and mobility problems, they were happy to be together in their home with each other and the many family and church members returned their earlier years of giving by continually supplying them with visits, cards, food and flowers. That never stopped - though Mother was sick for so long.

The day Mother went home was a beautiful sunshiney day. Her aide and I had bathed her and put a beautiful clean gown on her and turned her toward the big picture window in her room. She was sleeping peacefully when I noticed her breathing had changed. My sister, brother, stepdad and I were by her side as her breathing slowed and then stopped. No gasping, gurgling or restlessness. Just a peaceful passing from this life to the next. We spontaneously began to thank God for her life, for her peaceful passing and for the hope that was before us as she was now dancing down streets of gold, hands upraised with perfect vision beholding the wonders of heaven.

Her funeral was packed and she was beautiful. I had seen her sick for so long I had forgotten how very beautiful my mother was. We celebrated her life Monday morning. Over and over again I heard how kind and good my mother was. She never said a bad word about anyone and the love she had for others was sweet and pure. I think our Lord was well pleased with her life and I know that I will miss her greatly. I hope I can leave such a legacy of love and sweetness.

Goodbye for now Mother, I will see you in the morning.