Mom
Today is my Mom's birthday. She would have been 84. I think about her every day, although it has been almost nine years since she died. In honor of her birthday, I am going to share a couple of memories I have of her.
My mom was environmentally careful. It's interesting that today has been dubbed Earth Day because my mom was into environmentalism before it even was a word in the Scrabble dictionary. I remember her insisting that we wash out milk bags to use again. Every other family had Ziploc; we had plastic milk bags tied with a twist tie, or taped down with Scotch tape. It was so terribly embarrassing until twenty some years later, when we are reminded of it in Al Gore's film"An Inconvenient Truth" . We realize Mom was onto something after all!
I remember her bemoaning the fact that cans were so precious in Ethiopia, but in Canada, there was nothing for them but to toss them in the garbage. I think at one point, she tried to save them - but in those days, there was no recycling interest. She was also careful in the use of utilities. For instance, she had my Dad hang up clotheslines in the basement for the winter so that she could hang the clothes to dry rather than using up the energy from the dryer. My mom should have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize rather than Al Gore. She had a huge
head -start on him.
My mom was not only careful with environmental issues, but she was careful in the care of her family. She made sure our needs were taken care of. Whether it had to do with food or other provisions, mom made sure that we had what was necessary. My mother was a person who could make something out of nothing. Leftovers didn't become science experiments in her fridge. She took them out and made something out of them. I rarely remember the leftover meals being anything other than tasty (Except for parsnips. Sorry Mom, I'll never get used to that taste).
She made every dollar an elastic one and stretched it as far as it would go. One of her great pleasures was to go garage-saling. (Yep, I inherited that one. I make her proud as many Saturdays in the spring and summer as I can). She got a great kick out of getting the absolute best deal. If you come to my kitchen, you'll see a tiny shelf there by the sink. It holds two cherubs. It was one of the last garage sale items she bought for me. I treasure it and I have to say that I get just a big a kick out of garage sale bargains as I remember she did.
My mom was also was careful in her walk with God. She memorized Scripture faithfully. She read the Bible and made notes about areas of her life that she was working on. She would also note little prayer requests. I found one after she died that said "help Marni catch the vision." Well Mom, I would have to say that your prayer request was answered with a yes.
Happy Birthday Mom. I hope there's daisies in heaven. I'll pick some for you when I arrive. (with a vase I found at a heavenly price).
My mom was environmentally careful. It's interesting that today has been dubbed Earth Day because my mom was into environmentalism before it even was a word in the Scrabble dictionary. I remember her insisting that we wash out milk bags to use again. Every other family had Ziploc; we had plastic milk bags tied with a twist tie, or taped down with Scotch tape. It was so terribly embarrassing until twenty some years later, when we are reminded of it in Al Gore's film"An Inconvenient Truth" . We realize Mom was onto something after all!
I remember her bemoaning the fact that cans were so precious in Ethiopia, but in Canada, there was nothing for them but to toss them in the garbage. I think at one point, she tried to save them - but in those days, there was no recycling interest. She was also careful in the use of utilities. For instance, she had my Dad hang up clotheslines in the basement for the winter so that she could hang the clothes to dry rather than using up the energy from the dryer. My mom should have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize rather than Al Gore. She had a huge
head -start on him.
My mom was not only careful with environmental issues, but she was careful in the care of her family. She made sure our needs were taken care of. Whether it had to do with food or other provisions, mom made sure that we had what was necessary. My mother was a person who could make something out of nothing. Leftovers didn't become science experiments in her fridge. She took them out and made something out of them. I rarely remember the leftover meals being anything other than tasty (Except for parsnips. Sorry Mom, I'll never get used to that taste).
She made every dollar an elastic one and stretched it as far as it would go. One of her great pleasures was to go garage-saling. (Yep, I inherited that one. I make her proud as many Saturdays in the spring and summer as I can). She got a great kick out of getting the absolute best deal. If you come to my kitchen, you'll see a tiny shelf there by the sink. It holds two cherubs. It was one of the last garage sale items she bought for me. I treasure it and I have to say that I get just a big a kick out of garage sale bargains as I remember she did.
My mom was also was careful in her walk with God. She memorized Scripture faithfully. She read the Bible and made notes about areas of her life that she was working on. She would also note little prayer requests. I found one after she died that said "help Marni catch the vision." Well Mom, I would have to say that your prayer request was answered with a yes.
Happy Birthday Mom. I hope there's daisies in heaven. I'll pick some for you when I arrive. (with a vase I found at a heavenly price).
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JC