MOM

         The other day I was listening to my favorite radio station. They had a section on that was the most outstanding thing about your Mom. People , phoned or emailed in.

         So I thought what would I say was the best of my Mom. I couldn't think of anything. First, I was  a little embarrassed and then quite ashamed that I couldn't come up  with something.

        I let it go.

        But that got me thinking about  few things about Mom. Mom died in 1973 at age 59. I'm not using that as an excuse for not being able to come up with what I think is the most important thing Mom gave us. It got me thinking about a post about Mom .

      And then while thinking about a post it hit me. Why did it take so long to think about it.

     Mom read  to us almost every night. She had a wide variety. Sometimes it was the Bible. Others a  series called the Sugar Creek Gang. And then some childrens' stories.

    She had a  number of good settings. Sometimes it was around the kitchen table. Other times on the couch in the living room . Sometimes on the floor. And the one I liked best was when the four of us got ready  for bed and we all went into the big bed under the covers. Usually somebody went to sleep.

     She could use her voice to emphasize the mood.

     Three of us became great readers. We have been readers all our lives.

    I read  to my kids. they are much better readers than I am.

MOTHER'S DAY

       I wished my wife a happy mother's day ...yesterday. I got ahead of myself. 

       for days like Mother's day and other days marking special occasions or people, I like to think of their origin and how it was celebrated when I was young. Yes , they were all celebrated when I was young and in many parts of the world . Mny of the origins are similar. 

      My Father felt that special days were rather artificial so he did not give them much importance. So very little notice of mother's day was noted in our home. Our mother deserved recognition as she worked very hard with limited resources. She was a farmer's wife and had very few conveniences. Rural areas thought of these days as related to urban people. 

      So I looked up the origins of Mother's day to see where it originated and when it began to be celebrated. As with most of these special days , the origin goes far back in history. 

      As I said before, my mother was hard working but not only that a very caring person. My Mother died when she was 59. I often think of her and how her life was shortened by cancer. The older I get the more I see what a strong caring person she was. I also see that many of my strong points come from her either by teaching or inheritance. 

     I was looking for another photo of Mom when she was older. So this will have to do when she was younger and spending most of her time looking after me.