one year

One year. That's how long Mom's been gone. I was fortunate to make it out to visit Dad this weekend. Yesterday I attended Mass with him, Nancy, Dale & Colleen. Jim would've been there but the fog kept him home. I visited her grave site yesterday with Nancy & today with Dad. A day to remember her.

I remember the smell of coffee on her breath. The lit cigarette in her hand or a nearby ashtray. I remember how she could sew, bake cinnamon rolls every Saturday, tend a large vegetable garden every summer. I remember her washing my hair every Saturday night under the faucet in the kitchen sink. I remember sitting on the front steps while she used a needle to get a sliver out of my finger. She taught me how to butcher chickens. I remember the dishcloths & afghans she crocheted. Red may have been her favorite color; at least it was her favorite color to wear. She loved flowers. I remember her hanging wall paper in our bedrooms. I remember her refinishing furniture. I remember how she would hum to herself while sewing or ironing. I remember her canning tomatoes & green beans. I remember her making sausage from a freshly butchered hog. I remember the soynuts she made. She always saved the mountain oysters for company. I remember the perms she gave us at home. She enjoyed reading romance novels. She taught me that red potatoes make the best mashed potatoes. She made the best roast beef & gravy. She was a peace maker. She was a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She taught me so much. Thanks, Mom.




The photo above was taken in April.