Thursday, August 27, 2020
Words of Remembrance for Mom:
Love is defined as a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another; warm attachment, enthusiasm, devotion or admiration; to hold dear, cherish.
These words embody all that mom is and how she has lived her life.
Grandma, mom, wife, sister, friend, teacher were all roles she took great pride in and Mom’s generosity, kindness, loyalty, faith, strength, and love made these roles her greatest gifts.
Everyone was greeted with a bright smile and a cheerful hello. When we were kids every morning she was in the kitchen with her cheery good mornings, later her bright smile welcomed children as they arrived at school, and then it was for her grandbabies as they burst through her door to spend the day. Her smile would brighten any room and her laugh was infectious. She would always take the extra minute to have a conversation with someone because it might brighten their day and no occasion would go unacknowledged, there was always a card, a call, a thought and a prayer for you.
Family, family history and tradition were all very important to her. She kept meticulous notes about family history and the happenings of each day. We always laughed because it was amazing how much she could write on a calendar square, but those calendar squares were the diaries of each day, the memories, the successes she celebrated for each of us. If you had a question about what happened, where, when or with whom she would know.
As kids, she volunteered for everything we did. She was always there for us, whether it was field trips, missions days, special lunches, concerts, field days, being a girl scout leader, or any other crazy request that came up, she never missed and she was always helping and cheering for us,
Some of our best childhood memories were at Conesus. We may have grumbled about all the boxes we would have to haul down the stairs, because she packed everything, and it was always amazing how much she could get in a box, she always had whatever anyone needed. She opened our home to our cousins, friends and family who would come and stay with us and she would cook, clean and make sure everyone was having fun. The family dinners, the smiles and all the laughs we had will always make Conesus a special place.
Holidays were always an extra special time in our family, filled with traditions, great memories and lots of laughter. Whether it was baking pies together at Thanksgiving, or the carefully prepared puffy omelet at Easter that she would hold her breathe as she took out of the oven in hopes that it wouldn’t fall, she always put all her energy and love into making it perfect for everyone. Her joy and love shining through in all the details.
Christmas was her favorite holiday, and during the season of giving she managed to give so much of herself and so much love to those around her that I couldn’t help but learn how magical and special this time of year and each day can be if you truly understand it’s about love, generosity and kindness.
As kids, the season always started with the Church giving tree, where she made sure we always took plenty of stars because no child or family should be left out of the holidays. For many years we would go to Church and help package all of the donations for the giving tree. Gratitude for all we have generosity to others were the lessons she wanted us to learn. She would spend hours sitting at the kitchen table writing Christmas cards and wrapping gifts. Perfectly picked Christmas presents were meticulously wrapped and we all knew that gifts from mom would take just a little longer to open because tape was a stock item at the holidays. Always a good laugh we had. She would watch as everyone opened gifts, often times having to be reminded of the gifts that were for her. The bright smile on her face revealing her excitement at the receiver’s happiness. Of course, no holiday would be complete without her cooking and baking up a storm. Family tradition followed her in the kitchen too. Whether it was the guoglehof for Christmas Eve, the special packages of fudge for her nieces or her delicious blueberry nut bread we all enjoyed her special holiday baking treats. She even taught me how to bake the family butter cookies, and what a great day in my kitchen we would have when she would come and we would bake them together. Her greatest gift was making others happy.
Being Grammie was definitively her favorite role. Her boys have been so fortunate to have her as such a large part of their lives. She even learned to like hockey because they love it. No game day or tournament would be complete without her calling to check in to see how they did and cheer for them regardless of the outcome. She watched practices and games and was their biggest cheerleader. She helped with homework and read them stories. She played batman, hockey and built legos. She loved every minute with them and hugs were always a must. Grammie was special.
She taught me how to love. From her I learned how to be a wife, partner, friend and mother. Hopefully I can make her proud and pass that love, kindness and generosity on to others, especially, her two favorite people who brought her the most pride and happiness.
“I love you” was not just a cursory salutation that mom used, she meant it with ever fiber of her being and it’s only fitting to say good-bye as she would close any card or conversation,
Lots of love, hugs and kisses always and forever.
~Katie
