Mom and me
Today would have been my Mom’s 90th birthday.
She has been gone for a little over 7 years. I miss her every day.
I miss her most when I am scrubbing my back porch, aka mud room. A little strange? Maybe. She would come over and help me clean if I was having a meeting or event at my house. She always started with the mud room because it was the dirtiest room in the house and the most difficult to clean. That was just my mom. She was not afraid of hard work and she would always do the jobs that no one else wanted to do. She would bring her own bag of cleaning supplies and sometimes she would start right in on the mud room before I even knew she had arrived.
I can’t possibly remember all the things she did for me. She helped me paint the stairway to the upstairs, she helped me wallpaper, she cleaned that mud room more times than I could possibly count, she did my laundry, she made gallons of potato salad when the kids had graduation parties, she supervised birthday parties, she bought disposable diapers for all 3 of my kids and would deliver them weekly, she would go outside and pick up trash, she would sweep the sidewalks, water the flowers, play with the grandkids (but only after all the work was done) and babysit at a moment’s notice. She did windows and toilets and scrubbed floors on her hands and knees.
She had some kind of ESP when one of her kids needed her. On a dreary March day when I had returned from the doctor’s office and they were unable to find a heartbeat for the baby I was expecting, she showed up without warning. I was standing at the sink, crying, with my back to the door and she walked in and said, “What’s wrong?”
She was the disciplinarian in the family. We towed the line for her. But we never doubted her love for us. Because she proved it every day, by taking care of us, and keeping us straight. I try to be like her now that I am a grandma, but I will never quite be as selfless and hard-working as she was.
Happy Birthday Mom. Thanks for being you.
Retired Ruth 
What a beautiful tribute to your Mom! I’m glad I found your blog today.
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Thanks…. love to connect with other “retired” teachers.
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I just read and loved your tribute to your dear late mum. It has me in tears, lovely reminiscing tears about my equally loved mother who died four years ago, aged 89. As you describe so beautifully, they were wonderful, loving, intuitive, strong and wise women, who had few of the advantages we have in education and career choices, but intelligence, emotional connectivity, kindness and generosity and grace to spare. You sound like you have all this courtesy of her example, too, so your children are equally blessed. Happy birthday to your Mum. I think of mine every day the minute my feet hit the floor. They are with us still.
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Your mother deserved this loving tribute that you have dedicated to her. Wonderful! Kudos to you for your gratitude.
Blessings ~ Maxi
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There is no doubt in my mind that a wonderful mother determines the type of person you are destined to be….Mothers are such an influence on their children… it’s a scary but important job!
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Wow, Ruth–this choked me up so much–both because you were blessed to have such a great mom, and the part about your baby. Wonderful tribute. God bless your week–love, Caddo
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Wonderful tribute to your mother, Ruth.
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Well said… they were not afraid of much. Thanks for sharing.
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Dear Ruth what a touching and emotional tribute for your Beloved Mother. It is apparent in your words what a kind, thoughtful and loving woman she was. She is, her memory so obviously lives on keeping her spirit so alive, even a stranger can feel it. But then if you & I are not strangers she & I could not be either. Right?
I have a sense that you are far more selfless than you know, it would be like you to minimize this. After all our moms did. You so remind me with your words of my own mom. I wonder what she would think of me blogging about her, my mom dreaded technology. Never owned an electric can opener in hr life. Isn’t that a hoot? Arthritic hands and all she was having none of it.
Thank you so much for sharing your mom’s memory with us. Happy Birthday indeed!
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Thanks Lady BB… I am pretty sure your mom and mine would love reading our blogs about all the things that interest us and motivate us. I think my mom would have learned enough technology to use email because she loved keeping in touch with everyone.
No electric can opener! I have a friend who refuses to use those, too. ” Why do I need a machine to do something that I can do myself!?” she says….
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Ruth, you’ve got me missing your mom! What a beautiful tribute to a strong woman, great mother, and valuable contribution to society.
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She would have loved reading these blogs, too! Thanks for commenting.
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Lovely tribute…Aren’t we lucky to have such wonderful memories…love the photo too…My Mom would have been 104 this past January…she had me when she was 40…Yes…I’m the baby!
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Yes we are so lucky to have had such strong women for mothers…. having a baby at 40 that many years ago was quite an accomplishment….
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What a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing those memories… I am sure your Mom is shining down proudly on you 🙂
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Yes, I know she is… I can feel it sometimes! Thanks.
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I remember your mom even tho I never knew her well. She and all of her siblings had a strong work ethic and plenty of love to go around. My mom also could never do enough for her family. Devotion isn’t even the word…..much more than that.
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We were both lucky.
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Oh, Ruth, she sounds like a great mom. It’s a real blessing to have parents that are strong and loving. This is a sweet tribute – I’m sure she watches over you and is so proud of the woman you’ve become. 🙂
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I know she’s watching… thanks.
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Moms from that era were strong women – no shrinking violets. If my Mom was alive she’d be 95 this year. Happy Birthday to both our Moms.
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