MOM

 Today is Mother's Day.  I got word this morning that mom was only expected to live for a few more hours. I went to church feeling at peace knowing that Mother's Day would be a perfect day for my mother to pass through the veil.  

She has been a mother to me in every sense of the word since I can remember.  She held, nursed and loved me as a baby.  She corrected me as I grew and taught me right from wrong.  She instigated family prayer and scripture study and taught me how to pray.  She was my champion as I learned to be athletic in grade school and could beat all the boys in foot races and tetherball.  She listened to me talk about my childhood crushes.  She let me talk on the phone for hours at a time with my first ever boyfriend.  She helped me get through the heartache of a breakup with that said first ever boyfriend.  She followed me through teenage years of cheerleading, volleyball and softball...and of course, boys.  She cried with me when failure came my way and encouraged me to try again.  She was a great example of loving and honoring my dad.  She always answered the bishop's call for leadership and any other calling that came her way.    She was there taking pictures before me leaving on my very first date and she was awake when I got home to tell her all about it.    She cried with me when I left for college but was excited for me all the same.  She always welcomed me back when I needed to come home for the weekend.  She was there when I came home to tell her that I met the one that I thought I was gonna marry and then happy for me a few weeks later when I got engaged. (even though she had never met him)  She helped me plan and prepared for that amazing day when I got married.  She (and my dad) funded our beautiful reception.  She let me come home when my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage and I was physically and emotionally shattered.  She came to visit and give me guidance after I had given birth to each of my children.  In family life, she celebrated the highs with me and helped to build me when things were falling apart.  She gave great counsel when I needed it.  She loved my family as they grew and loved to talk with each of the kids.  She was a great mother to me and a good grandmother to my children through the years.   I have been blessed for fifty eight years to call her MOM. 

I got the call earlier this evening to let me know that she had passed away.  She passed at 5:10 PM surrounded by some of my siblings and some of her grandchildren. 

Interestingly enough, when the news of her passing came, I did not feel extreme sorrow.  I felt a relief that she had lived a good life and knew that she had been welcomed back home by "that God who gave her life"  I knew that she was reunited with my dad, her parents, siblings, friends, and extended family.  I felt happy that she was released from the body that had aged to the age of eighty seven and that her spirit was now young again.  

How blessed am I to have had such a mother.  

I love you, mom!

PS. She also taught me to love ice cream!