It's always tough around this time each year, to not have some dark memories surface about my mother's death, so instead I try to fill my mind and heart with happy thoughts about her life:-how much she loved peanut butter on toast
-how she always had a towel over her shoulder when she cooked
-how she always had a pad and pen in her car, so she could write notes to herself when they came to her mind
-how, when on the phone, she would doodle on paper and it mostly consisted of arrows and boxes
-how she would look at everyone around her when laughing to see if they were laughing too
-how she burned herself on the oven almost every time she used it
-how soft her skin was
-how she would tear apart products in the store, in order to make her own sock or earring color combinations
-how she almost always point out that there was too much dressing or sauce on anything she ordered in restaurants
-how fast she could type
-how she loved being in the sun
-how she lost her cell phone, but found it a few hours later...in the dishwasher...after a completed cycle
-how she could never sense that she had crumbs on her face
-how she welcomed anyone into her home, and made them feel like family
-her signature dance move, the palm up to the forehead, with the booty sway
-how much she hated mice
-how special she made us feel on our birthdays
-how much she loved a party
-the random jobs she had when I was younger including paper route, discovery toys seller, bulk mailing envelope stuffer, transcriptionist, and the computer tile things (still don't know exactly what that were)
-how, when given a task to help find a particular item of clothing, she would search store after store until she found what you needed, and it would always be perfect
-how she always volunteer to help out at our school, our sports teams, or our church activities
-how she would have random bruises, and have no idea of where she got them
-her iron feet
-her love of the sno cone, icee, or gelato
-her believe in duct tape or bag balm as the answer to any problem
-how much she loved Luther Vandross and Marvin Gaye
-how many times she, kim, and I would listen to the "girl groups of the 50's and 60's tape" while in the car
-how much she loved playing bunko with the Juanita Ladies
-how much she loved her family
(feel free to add to list through the comments..I would love to hear your little memories)
17 comments:
What a great list, what a great mom! Love you Gi Gi!
Loved the list. It put a smile on my face because I could totally picture all of it!
Love you Angie!
You made me laugh out loud about the crumbs on her face. For some reason I sometimes think about her at dr. Earls sitting back in her little corner trying to position all the fans around her because she was always too hot! And her dancing back there. I also think of her when the girls in your family performed to "we are family." I was young and ashamed that I didn't recognize the song until the chorus (I grew up in Peru, right?!) and I thought it was so cool that it looked like the three of you had been performing that song together forever.
I loved your mom's laugh - - it always made everything way more funnier for me! My favorite person ever to laugh with - hands down! Didn't she sometimes just have to slap her leg while she was laughing?? Funnier still!! Perfect list, Ang!
Gotta add - - back in the late 80's your mom had the perfect matching earrings for EVERY outfit-an actual obsession, I'm sure. I was in awe!!!
I ate a shaved ice in honor of mom last night. :)
I miss talking to her. I want to hear her voice again.
don't forget my favorite:
"Aaron, will you run over next door and get Jared some toast from grandma's"
(As I'm just sitting on the couch. not sick. not injured)
I love this one:
"how she welcomed anyone into her home, and made them feel like family"
because it is so true. Love your mom.
The laugh. The one-eyed laugh. And how shr always smelled so good. Loved that lady!
Yes, yes, that was my memory, too -- the one-eyed laugh.
I love this list. So personal and perfect.
I agree. Bag balm can fix ANYTHING.
I remember I stayed at your house once when my parents were out of town and that night aunt Tami was so excited to read to us. She read us Shel Silverstein poems and she saved her favorite, "Sick", for last. That is still my favorite poem to this day. I love her so much.
Great list! I've thought about her all week. And most of the time it truly is her laugh and how easily you could get it out of her. Oh man, she was such an awesome aunt. Daishan
Your list was priceless and brought back so many memories. Tami was just plain FUN! She turned every event into a party. I wish I was more like her. I will try...
We miss her! Thanks for sharing. You've touched us all.
Miss her. Love you.
I loved her loyalty. No matter if what I was telling her was so stupid, or skewed by my personal bias, she would always take my side.
I just loved being around her. She was good and kind, and funny, and always looking out for people she cared for. I swear I've never laughed so hard as I had when she was in the group. Loved those years at Dr. E's office! :)
I'm still trying to decide if mom loved red vines or peanut m&m's better! It's a tough call. I might lean toward red vines, since she was snacking on a few while Aaron and I watched a movie with her the night before she died. Kind of sad...and funny, right?!
She always treated me like an adult, which I loved. We had so many great girl talks. She always gave me a birthday card, and my family isn't huge on birthdays, so I remember being amazed that she would remember. She was the first person I saw after Joey the day I took out my endowment in the Portland temple. She gave me the the biggest, best hug.
So many of the things on your list run in our family, we have the same eccentricities, she is so familiar, so family!!!! I miss her. She gave me a throw blanket as a high school graduation present, and I always think of her when I snuggle in it (which I still do often). I love my Aunt Tami!!!
My absolute favorite memory of your mom is when we would go to concerts or plays and we always had to stop at a gas station to fill up and get her a gas station hot dog. :) To this day, every time I see a gas station hot dog I think of your mom.
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