THANK YOU MOM,

Cicero once said:

The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living. - Cicero

And so Mom’s life was a guiding light to her children. One that led us to do what we needed to do: helped us to become adults and do always what she would want us to do and be. To this day that is true.

Her life was a life of pain and sorry as child and young woman, the pain she suffered is too painful, separated from her two sisters and mother as her mom had a mental breakdown and she had to live in a Catholic home run by nuns for us to speak of and it seems the only joy she had was in her 5 children. We lived our lives with her values laid out before us, and her face, set squarely in front of every move we ever made. If we accomplished anything with self-pride, she reminded us that pride must be handled quietly, without fanfare.

But Mom was filled with laughter, no matter how hard life was for her, she enjoyed a laugh. As she laid in her deathbed I often teased her until she did laugh. Every morning, in her state of rigidness, she lied waiting for my arrival and I would pull up a chair and begin.

She was very receptive to laughter, although she was shy as one can be. She could laugh at herself, and at life in general. I found her laughter to be something I always enjoyed hearing. Many years ago, working for a large company, with a lot of responsibilities, I would after lunch, close my door for an hour and just plan my next moves would be, write letters and memos and read. It was NOT to be uninterrupted time. The rule was NOT to disturb me. There was a woman who sat outside my office in the support staff who would laugh at times, and her laughter sounded like Mom’s. I would close my eyes and think of her and smile.

The memories I hold are to many and too beautiful for me to relate her in this small space of time, she was a great mother, and a model mother, something that comes and brands your memories with love.

As she was in her comatose state at the end, I leaned close to her ear and told her I love her, that she made me better than I could ever be otherwise, and I thanked her for her being, her lessons and her love, but most of all, my life.

Good-bye Mom, I am sorry for every moment of aggravation I brought you, for every time you had to chase me and correct me. I am glad that you did what you needed to do to care for me, love me for what I am and I promise you, those lessons will be studied hard and remembered.