I started in my last entry talking about Kelly's passion for the trombone. I will continue examining the issue of "passion" in future blogs. But Sunday is Mother's Day, probably the most important day of the year. So here is my pass at Mother's Day, 2005.
The one mother that I have watched for 45 years lives with me. No, she is not my natural mother, but she is the mother of my children. She is conditioned to nurture and encourage her kids forever. It is part of her fabric. We were at Paul's abode recently and Tommy was harassing Dominic and it was Dominic's birthday yet. Son Paul began to hand out discipline. He was calm. He was emphatic in his instructions. He was teaching. I watched you Mom's face during the whole encounter and you could see she was following Paul's thought process, step by step. She was also ready to offer advice to help Paul along! To improve the situation. For you see, that is what mother's do. They try to instill their wisdom into their kids. I was proud of her. She let Paul do his own thing! Because she has done such a good job over the years, Paul did a great job.
I remember going to a seminar with your Mother at the American Club sponsored by my TEC business group. We had to draw a picture of our lives on paper. Mine had "some feely things" like marriage and having kids but the emphasis was on job/career related things. And your mother's picture was centered around the birth of each and every child. Who would have guessed?
Each and every child brought something special into the family. Because the family continued to change, each child was born into something different. I do remember each birth. Debbie was born on a Monday, the day I started going to Marquette University to study engineering. Kelly was born on a Saturday during the Christmas holidays, Christopher was born on a Friday afternoon in West Allis, Wisconsin, Paul on a Thursday morning and Margaret on a Friday afternoon. It exhausts me to write it down. Imagine what it did to your mom.
Well, your mom has woven this neat family mosaic that features children and grandchildren and hope for the future. Each child has accomplished things in their own way and the mosaic emphasizes it. Mom's pride makes up the background of the creation.
And along the way, Mom's mom was there for each and every child. How special was that! Nana knew just what to do! She provided guidance and energy at key moments and I know that she was always proud of her own daughter.
So you see moms are special people. They cannot deny their basic nature. I cannot bestow accolades on my mother any longer because she is someplace better. But you can say thanks the the one person in your life that has never, and will never give up on you. Your Mom. Remember her!
Love,
Dad