The small things in life.....

[69camfrk]

As all of you know, my Mom passed on 3 Oct. It was a blessing considering the shape she was in after the stroke in March. What has been hard for me, as I'm sure most of you have been through, and can attest to, are the small things your parents do for you.

I will never again taste her home made vegetable beef soup around the holiday's again. She won't ever ask me what I want for breakfast, even though she would already have bacon in the frying pan. There will be no more birthday cards either sent or received, no phone calls seeing how she is doing....it's all gone. My Mom lived a good solid 85.5 years before the stroke, and was going strong right up until the event.

My family and I got the small stuff sorted out at her house in the summer and got it out, so really all that is left is a few pieces of furniture that I will have to move here in a few weeks. The house sounds empty and already has that echo in it. She unfortunately had the house mortgaged to the hilt by mismanaging her money (I had no clue until her stroke and went through her bills), so even it is lost. That is neither here nor there really. I grew up there and have a lot of memories, but without Mom there, it is just a house.

My Mom knew I was a bit of a hellion, but she loved me anyway. I think she would have preferred that I was a doctor or lawyer instead of a military aircraft mechanic, but I think deep down she was proud of what I did.

But once again, it will be the small things I miss, and once those things are gone, they are gone forever, and that is what makes it sad. I haven't really talked about it much, and maybe even here isn't the place. Either way, she is at peace now, and I'm grateful that her suffering is over.

[DAB]

my dad will turn 80 next year. i got to join him 2 weeks ago to go deer hunting, he had 2 tags, i had none. so i did all the grunt work that so taxes him now. he got 2 deer on the ground by 7:05am opening day. he was thrilled.

when i had my heart problems 4 years ago, the doctor told dad that the best meat for me was game meat. so dad has done his best over the years to fill his and our freezers accordingly. that may have been his last hunt. he's still thinking about that. don't worry dad, we have plan B in mind. there is a local place that raises bison. one will fill our freezer for about 3 years.

he's been hunting since he was a boy in Michigan. likely about 70 years. it's hard to give up. but his body is telling him to stop. his heart says "lets go".

we cleaned out Mrs. DAB's mom's house several years ago. you keep the memories, but the rest is just stuff. some you retain, the rest you let go.

[StaticCling]

My mom died on October 10, 1998. She was only 50 years old. Even though it has been almost 20 years, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her...

[Black94lt1]

Those things may be gone but they will never be forgotten!

[Barn Babe]

I hadn't thought about all of that. I still have both of my parents, though my dad is in really poor shape. .

[MrPeabody]

My mom passed away in 2004. Fortunately, my wonderful wife had taken the time over the years to learn from my mom to cook my favorite foods.

The big thing with my mom was she loved her telephone. It was to her what the internet is to us. Her first real job was as a telephone operator in the 40s. She would spend up to 10 hours a day talking to her friends on the phone. I would call her often as I knew that was something special to her. Even now, when something happens in the family I think I need to call her and tell her about it.

[73sbVert]

I feel your pain man. I lost both mom and dad last year, 2015 pretty much sucked.

Sorry for your loss.

[lspencer534]

Originally Posted by MrPeabody

My mom passed away in 2004. Fortunately, my wonderful wife had taken the time over the years to learn from my mom to cook my favorite foods.

The big thing with my mom was she loved her telephone. It was to her what the internet is to us. Her first real job was as a telephone operator in the 40s. She would spend up to 10 hours a day talking to her friends on the phone. I would call her often as I knew that was something special to her. Even now, when something happens in the family I think I need to call her and tell her about it.

Your Mom taught your wife how to cook your favorite foods? That's wonderful! I wish my Mom had done the same for me. She was a great cook; she taught Home Economics, and she was a registered dietitian. She could make wonderful meals for 2 people or 600 people.

She's make the three-hour trip to see me and my daughter and typically bring a roasted turkey, 2 apple pies, creamed corn, baked yams, turnip greens, and Gawd knows what else. In one weekend my daughter could eat both apple pies, and she loved the corn and turnips even when she was just a toddler.

I tried to get her recipes, but she made everything from memory and wrote nothing down. One Thanksgiving I tried to duplicate her cornbread dressing. When it came time to add the chicken broth I had to call her to ask how much broth to add. Her response: "Until it looks right...."

I know how you feel OP. My Mom could worry the horns off a billy goat (as we say in the South), but I miss her terribly.

[09CTSV]

I lost my Mom when I was 5 years old. She wen to the hospital for a simple operation and didn't come home. I think of how life would have been with her in it all the time. Life wasn't nice with the step mom.
I still have memories of the short time I had with my Mom. I told my Dad a few visits ago about a vision with her crying after a deer kicked in the windshield of their corvair. I told Dad about Mom crying as she vacuumed the glass the next day. He turned white as a ghost, Mom was pregnant with me and Dad had never told me the story of the deer.
I think my Mom and I have a special bond, I still feel her guiding me through life.

[JRD77VET]

I lost my Dad on March 3, 1999 four months before Mary and I got married. We went antiquing with them ( Dad and stepmom ) and had a great time doing it.

I still vividly remember the first time I wanted to call him ( something I found out about oil lamps ) and I couldn't share my new found knowledge with him.

Just remember and share all the good memories

Jeff