Mom’s favorite color was pink.
No, not just any pink.
Fuchsia. Deep, dark, bright pink. Fuchsia is dark and bright at the same time. Isn’t it?
Here is mom on my sister Helen’s wedding day. May 15, 1967. That’s me beside her. I love those sunglasses!
Here she is – having some fun. I’m told the apple didn’t fall fall from the tree.
Mom passed away, January 5, 1967. 46 years ago yesterday.
I was eight years old.
She was 47.
She died from breast cancer.
Her favorite color was pink.
Before it became the color for breast cancer.
She was ahead of her time.
It’s hard to lose your mom whether you are eight or fifty-eight. There is no good age to lose your mom.
She didn’t leave me alone though.
She left me with these wonderful people. 
My amazing dad,
my sister Ann,
my sister Helen,
and my brother Jim.
A lot of wine glasses. Huh? I guess all the apples did not fall far from the tree. 
You may have noticed that I am the baby in the family. My sister Ann is 17 years older than me, Helen is 14 years older and Jim is 11 years older. When Mom died they were 25, 22, and 19. All terribly young to lose your mom, but they had something I did not – MEMORIES. They had many more memories of mom than I did.
So, guess what these wonderful people did when I turned 40?
Are you ready?
They created for me an absolutely amazing memory book. No, not just photos, but memories, lots and lots of memories.
Like these
and these.
38 pages of beautiful memories.
The opening letter in the book reads:
Dear Terry,
You’ve always been the baby of the family so it doesn’t seem possible to us that our baby is now 40 years old. We decided that we wanted something very special for you on this birthday and realized that we had the one gift that no-one could give you – the shared memories we have of our mother.
We have put together what we could remember and collected memories from other members of the family. You will notice that some memories contradict others but we thought that we would leave them as each person remembers differently and that is the way life is. We think we have remembered clearly then find that we were missing a bit of information that changes the focus slightly.
We’ve called it “Snapshots of Our Mother” as none of carries the whole picture but hope that it will give you some idea of who she was and what she was like.
This was done with much love and we hope that you will treasure it as we have treasured you.
To our littlest sister from your loving brother and sisters.
Ann, Helen and Jim
They had written to every living member of our family and asked them to send memories of our mother. Every single family member responded. All of their memories are included in this book, and I have the hand written letters they sent my sister. All hand written. No emails. 15 years ago there was not a computer in every household.
Now, this weekend, 46 years since the day mom passed, Ann, Helen and Jim are still with me. Thank You, God. Ann is now 71, Helen is 68 and Jim is 65. I am 54. God may have needed to take Mom home when I was 8, but He blessed me abundantly with a wonderful dad (Dad passed away in 1987) and amazing siblings.
Due to technology every member of our family has their own copy of the book. Ann published it on blurb.com. My children each received their own copy. Now they will know more about the grandmother that they never met than I would ever been able to tell them.
LOVE – life is all about Love, and I have been so blessed.
Thank you, Beverly at http://www.howsweetthesound.typepad.com/ for your Pink Saturday party.
Also please consider visiting this beautiful blog: http://www.thefrenchhutch.com/2012/12/home-for-holidays.html
Terry, I have a lump in my throat! This is so touching and when I got to the part about your siblings making the memories book, I was deeply touched. I had my mother until I was 44 and you're right, there's no good time to lose one's mother. But she gave up her children from her first marriage because (well, it's a long story), so my half-siblings lost their mother at around that age so I can understand a little of how it was.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the beautiful woman you have become, and especially the mother you have been to your children, has been the result of all the love you received--a real blessing, indeed.
Oh, Terry. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful post. It touched my heart, and I am so thankful that you have so many people that love you.
ReplyDeleteHappy Pink Saturday.♥
What a lovely and thoughtful gift. I did notice all the drinking going on in those photos lol.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you dropped by my blog so I could stop by your blog. Oh how I loved your post. Family is everything. I lost my father at 17, not as young as you. Your siblings gave you the greatest gift and one that can be passed on to your children, grandchildren and many generations to come.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely post. I read through it with gentle tears as I lost my mother to cancer as well. She adored hibiscus flowers and every once in a while, a hibiscus flower will fall in front of me and I know it is mom saying hello. So glad I found your blog through the grow your own blog project.
ReplyDeleteI am really touched by the beauty of this post. What a wonderful idea to honor a woman who was very much loved.
ReplyDeleteTerry, I wanted to stop back and delve into your blog more. I am touched by the post about your mom. My sister has been gone from us one year on the 22nd. We have many wonderful memories. She has a daughter in her second year in college, so I try to encourage her as much as I can. She is in a different state and makes it difficult to visit. I will step up to the plate better now, because of your story! Thanks
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful gift :) Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDelete