It's in the Remembering..........

24 October 2012.

..........the phone call came after work.............late afternoon sun waning...................

.....................my dad, the tears in his voice choking out the words 

"Your mom died this afternoon about an hour ago"............

...........my body frozen, hands clutching laundry in the basement damp,

 legs shaking. voice crying out "how?"

and then "daddy are you ok?" and then the tears....oh, the tears......

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15

.....the whispered prayers of "thank you Jesus that she knew You and is with You"

and the knowledge of godly friends......

Oh how I praise God that a godly family friend  and fellow church goer was with my dad.......

.............Mom was not sick. This was sudden. She was only 78!

  Heart attacks can happen anytime apparently and one happened to my mother that afternoon on the way to the hospital in the ambulance.

but this remembering?  It's not gonna be about all those details......those sad, maudlin things that take place in the aftermath of sudden shocks.......the phone calls to husband, 2 of my sisters, my daughters, my friends.....the driving out to the central part of the state, back and forth for three long days.....and exhaustion, the shock, the overwhelming chores..............

this remembering??

it's going to be about Mom.

.......born in a small Adirondack town the 5th child of 9 children. One died when Mom was just 7 years old.  One died just last year. One is in a nursing home. There are 4 sisters left and 2 brothers. Some are older, a couple are younger. She has numerous aunts, uncles, cousins. And friends....so many friends!

and her beloved husband.....my dad......

Married for 60 years come December.

Daddy went off to the Korean War and Mommy went to work.

The first daughter (me) came along in 1959 with 2 other daughters every 2 years after that. 

Faith..........(me)

...........Joy............

me at age 3 with my mom holding my sister Joy, age 1
sometime in 1963

.................Hope

Joy (2 yrs.),Me(4 yrs) and Hope(4 months)
January 1965

She worked hard at our home in a village in central NY. She held down part time jobs and full time jobs over the years. We weren't wealthy but we weren't poor.

She had a good work ethic and managed her home always organizing, cleaning, baking cookies, working jobs.......

 and then daughter #4 came along when the rest of us were in our tweens/teens.

Mom and my little sister Jill in 1977
photo compliments of Jill's FB page.

She continued to work, manage her home, her children, her husband.

And above it all? 

She loved God and served in our Free Methodist church....the little white church on the park.

the church I grew up in
Mohawk Valley area, New York State

Sunday School..........

...........CYC (similar to Awana) which stood for Christian Youth Crusaders

......................Youth Group

................................Church Camp in Saratoga Springs

She made sure we did it all............

...............although my mother and I were not close emotionally -speaking, especially during my teens until fairly recently, she was a good mom. She LOVED her granddaughters (my 2 daughters) and her other 2 granddaughters and grandson.........she always wanted to hear about their grades in school, their activities and their friends.

my nephew Luke(age 19), and my 2 daughters: Claire(age 13) &  Courtney(age 19)
at the luncheon on 27 October 2012
photo by David H---

She loved her 3 sons-in-law and extended family.

She spoiled us at Christmas....gifts overflowing in bags and boxes, 

peanut butter balls tucked into containers, made with love

She was a good sport.....getting on a large boat on the ocean while visiting us at the T---family beach house and riding to a restaurant on the wharf......it made her anxious but she did it for us......I will always treasure that memory.....

and the phone calls....we used to call each other once a week in the last couple of years...she was happy I liked my special education job and that Courtney had chosen a Christian college. She was so happy she was able to see Claire dance in a ballet show. She was happy that we were in a good Evangelical church and she even visited us a couple of times and went with us to the church......

the last time she was here was for Courtney's graduation party in the summer of 2011.......I will fondly remember her hugging Courtney on that happy day.......

.....summer visits.....a last Labor Day visit recording her history from the 1940s for my husband's research......a special day since it was our last day with her........

so many memories of special times......

....it's in the remembering that peace comes....

..........the remembering that she is with our Savior now walking those streets of gold......

...........worshiping at the feet of Jesus..........in Heaven......

.....because it's in the remembering that she is a Believer .......

and in that remembering there is peace,

 joy amidst grief........

The church today where my dad will continue to worship
photo by David H----(my uncle)

You will be missed, Mom.

We love you.

We will see you one day with Jesus and all the loved ones who Believe.