MOM AND HER LIVING EXPERIENCES

"Life loves me, and I love life. I am so thankful."   --Louise Hay, You Can Heal Your heart

My father died when I was thirty. My mother was sixty-eight at the time.  She lovingly took in a family to live with her, but eventually decided to sell her house, and when she did, she moved to San Diego to live near me. As my mom turned ninety, I moved to Washington state to begin my ministry in Kennewick; she moved to New Mexico to live with my sister in Gallop.

Those first few Christmases she would fly out to visit me.  One year we were Christmas shopping, and she was so excited to pick out some lively colored place mats in Pink, lime, green, and turquoise as a present for my sister.  Meanwhile, back in Gallop, my sister was creating a beautiful new from yard for my mother.  When mom got home, my sister wondered why she had chosen that color of placemats since it did not fit the décor. My mother wondered why my sister could have ever chosen that yard design for the front of the house. Both had wanted to please the other, and instead ruffled each other’s feathers.

Through the years, she lived near each of her girls for many years.  My oldest sister Mary said she felt like the stepchild whenever any of her siblings came into town.  When mom lived near me, she said to my sister Carolyn, that no one ever came to visit her.  I came over every day and we had dinner together at least three times a week. When she finally moved to live near Carolyn, my sister called to apologize to me for thinking that I had done so little for her. 

The whole point is that we all loved her, but it is also where the idea of having to be right about something was born. As an adult who has embraced spirituality in my life, I have learned that I do not have to be right, and that really does make myself, and other people happier.

"Sometimes we need a new way of thinking about something, and sometimes, a connection with God is what allows that to happen."    --Sandra Lindsey Smith, "Life's Garden Grows"

Parents are special people, and sometimes we fail to appreciate them. If your parents are still alive, call them and list some of the things you are grateful for that you may never have mentioned, because when they are gone, you will miss them.

Love and light,

Sandy