Mom

I've been thinking how to share my Mom on here, but that seems to be as hard as trying to find a picture of her! She inhereted her mother's tendency to hide from a camera - although somewhere I've seen a photo of my grandmother with a bucket on her head to avoid my Dad's camera - Moms not gone that far (yet). She lives outside of Everett, not far from where she was raised. She remains in the same house we grew up in. Oh yes, she now 80. There are 10 of us kids. She & Daddy married in 1951, he was a trucker & she worked at "Pete & Betty's Diner". (She still uses the silverware she brought from there a piece at a time for her new home). A year & 1 month later I came along. Over the years our family increased. Mom did most of the caregiving, cause Daddy still drove truck & wasn't home alot. Then we lost Daddy at the age of 55, she finished raising my brother & sister on her own. She watched us grow, ate our cooking attempts, taught us how to do cooking & laundry (I still carefully sort colors), attended sporting events, watched us marry, & move away. She seen a couple of us divorce & then remarry. She welcomed home anyone that needed time to return, either short or long term. Grandchildren came. She shared our babies as they grew. Back to the sporting events, chorus, & band to cheer on our kids. During a particularly upsetting time 2 of the grandchildren needed to move in with her, they too grew & moved away. She lost a 19 year old grandaughter to a pulmonary embolism. Mom always seemed to be closer to Daddy's family than her own, even though they live at a distance. She watched Grandmom slowly leave us, lost 2 special sister-in-laws in a very short time. Did I mention she has never had a driver's license? Now there are 4 great-grandchildren. When they visit it is not unusual for her to bring out the toy box & sit on the floor to play. Last week I stopped at the local high school to visit her while she watched my nephew's track meet. She is active & healthy, although my granddaughter insists grandma is always in a chair. We are planning a family vacation this year, as usual she will anchor our family. Happy Mother's Day, Mom