My Mom

My mom. Her name is Patsy. She grew up in rural America and was one of five children of a family farmer. The children; the oldest was a boy, next was a girl, then another boy, next my mom and then her youngest brother followed. Five children seems like a pretty large family to me. My immediate family included my parents, my older sister and myself. Oh, and of course our family dog Peppy.

Follow up:

I loved going to the farm as a child. That’s another blog story along with stories about Peppy too.

It is funny how one comes to know their mom. Over the course of a lifetime moms play different roles. Some roles are more enjoyable than others. As a baby you depend on “mom” for the daily decisions and needs that you have without question or criticism. Satisfaction or tears translates the baby’s comfort. For mom those are busy years taking care of the family. Then the child grows and becomes school aged than an adult and each stage of life delivers a gift of awareness of who your mom is ~ as a person.
Our family was military and we had the fortunate opportunity to move frequently and see many parts of the United States as well as may foreign countries. I enjoyed military life. Our family enjoyed the world we knew. I really never even considered what life would have been like if we had not been military. All I can say is that the military life gave our family opportunity to see parts of the world that we would never have been exposed to. It also gave us proficiency in foreign language, which I would never have become proficient in because I am dyslexic and the English language was difficult for me to master let alone a foreign language. Well, foreign language totally makes sense when you are emerged in it and have to learn it to speak to friends, order a hamburger or understand directions on how to return home!

Mom always made our new home destination an adventure. It was exciting. She would have the household goods unpacked and set up within a week or two. My room came first on the get finish quickly list! I had to have my room finished first so I could go and make new friends and to start having sleep over parties quickly. Mom knew this about me better than I knew this about myself. Of course I was school aged by now and an expert at making friends and restarting.

High school years moved quickly and college came and went. I married and have had two children of my own.

Now married, a mom, and business owner, life drives a fast course where all of a sudden you begin to realize your mom is your friend and not so much a parent. These are great years when you can see her as a person and not your parent but know that advice is available when needed.

My mom and I do not live in the same city. We share a couple of trips a year on vacation or holiday. The phone and internet keep us connected on the daily actions on our lives. Mom, recently fell and damaged her knee pretty badly. Now she is home resting and letting it heal. This is when the cities seem to be too far apart and that the phone and internet are not enough. I wish I was able to go to stay with her and visit while she is resting her knee. Life and the responsibilities that have encircled mine have gotten in the way for me to be able to pick up and head "home" to enjoy sitting with her as her knee heals and to fetch a cup of hot tea as we visit over stories of our life. If this knee issue were life threatening or she unable to take care of herself then of course actions would be taken to get me there…. We hope and plan that when the economy improves that she can sell her house and then move to my town....will keep you posted on this as it happens.