Happy Birthday Mom. I Miss You.

(The stained glass window my Mom gave me before she died. She gave each of my sisters and I one and told us to go to it if we ever needed to talk with her.)

It is my Mom's birthday today. She would have been 68; a young and vibrant 68. I miss her so much it is unbearable some days. Myself and my two sisters all agree that it would be impossible to have had a better Mom. I cannot fathom why someone like her would be taken away from us like she was. Happy Birthday Mom. I love you more than you can even imagine.

Here is an excerpt from the eulogy I wrote for her:

"...Along with her great life of adventure, mom managed to bring up three daughters. It is impossible to explain the love that existed between Mom and her three girls. She was the most incredible and inspiring, caring and compassionate, patient and loving mom anyone could hope for. All of us adored her and will continue to do so. There was not a time when she wouldn't help us if we needed it.

She was always there to lend a hand, listen to us, offer us sage advice, and give us hugs, kisses and show us love whenever we needed it. In return the 3 of us learned to how to love. Well versed in caring for another we returned her love to her. When her 4 grandchildren were born the love in our family expanded even more. Mom adored her Granddaughters [S,J,A,and J]. Sadly her grandson [H] passed away at birth, but Mom took care of him both in her prayers and by bringing him to all our family functions. She so strongly believed it was important that he be a part of our family that she sewed him a beautiful bag, placed his ashes in it and ensured he was with us on all our family's special occasions.

As a testament to her love for her children and grandchildren she has literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of pictures showing the experiences she had with us and the little girls. Her children
and grandchildren returned those experiences with love, affection and adventures of their own. When we asked the granddaughters[2,4,4 and 6 at the time] what they loved about grandma they responded gleefully:

• she was very nice to us,
• she took us to movies (and left 10 minutes in if we got scared, or bored),
• she always let us buy a toy,
• we had sleepovers in the camper,
• she told us stories,
• she made us feel happy and gave us lots of hugs, kisses and
  snuggles.
• She took us for walks with Bert
• and last, but not least..."she made us feel special"

That was Mom's legacy. Her ability to make everyone she met feel special.

People told us this time and time again. She always saw the good in people. If we are to learn anything from Mom's life it is to understand that we all have the capacity for goodness within us. That treating people well, no matter what the circumstances are increases the likelihood of that
person treating someone else well. She believed in practising and showing kindness, compassion and caring, thoughtfulness, patience and love towards others, even when, and especially when, it was difficult to do. Mom showed us that love begets love. That was her lesson to all of us.

Let us carry what we have learned from Mom into the future and let her lesson of love live forever. We love you Mom"