A Matter of Perspective

It still amazes me how much of an impact my mom had on my life. . .

It’s hard to believe that she will be gone for two years already. It seems like only yesterday I was grumbling at her about calling me when I was just getting into bed for the night.

It seems like only yesterday she was telling me and my little brother to sit quietly on the straw bales while she and dad milked the cows. I remember laughing so hard when a cow stood up, coughed and blew a bunch of manure all over my brother!

My mom and brother didn’t think it was very funny.

I remember being out in the field picking rocks and watching my mom work so hard so that we could have a good life.

I remember when my brother got sick and my mom was gone for over a month staying with him in the hospital.

I remember the day he died...

I remember seeing my mom day after day living with her grief.

We all lived with that grief.

I remember when we would go camping as a family.

I remember missing my mom so much on the first day of college that I broke down and cried in my dorm room.

I remember little pieces of advice she gave, jokes she told and wisdom she passed on to my sister and me.

I still anticipate her calls when I sit down to eat or am getting into bed. She had an uncanny knack for knowing when I was doing those things and seemed to always call at those times.

I miss those “interruptions.”

I miss her calling me and asking me the answer to a crossword puzzle question.

I even miss her yelling at me when I misbehaved or did something stupid.

It is surprising how much of an impact one person can have on another.

I like to think I am a little bit better of a person because of her influence. . .