Mom died

My mother died on the winter solstice after a long and full life. She will be missed by those who knew her as she was one of the most decent and sweetest souls who ever lived.

Mom was born in 1923 in North Dakota of sturdy German stock. She was a child of the Great Depression and developed a sense of thrift and making do with less during those hard times. Mom attended nursing school, worked in a factory to support the war effort during WW2 and learned bookkeeping after the war. In 1951 she began her lifelong career as mother and homemaker, at which she was unsurpassed.

Mom loved sewing, needlepoint and quilting for most of her life. She created beautiful artwork that her descendents will keep as precious heirlooms for generations to come.

Ella was a tough and plucky woman who could work like a man even though she never weighed more than 90 pounds. I'll never forget finding her sweeping leaves off the roof of her house when she was in her 70s. I asked her how she got the ladder erected and she said she manhandled it in place. I told her that she has sons to do that work and she said that she didn't want to bother us.

That was mom, she didn't want to bother anyone. She just wanted to live her simple, decent life and take care of herself. Mom never took a handout from anyone. She paid her own way every day of her life. Even when we took her to the hospital the last time and waited for the doctors to make their diagnosis, she apologized for spoiling our weekend.

Mom outlived my father by 29 years and lived alone most of those years. It was hard on her but she kept herself busy with her hobbies and crafts. She rarely complained but often wondered, in her later years, why God kept her alive. Many would have despaired and died but she got up every morning and made the best of the day that was before her.

Most of what is good in me comes from my father and mother. They were the role models and the inspiration that  made me who I am today. I thank them for their common decency, stability and hard work that made me normal.

I enjoyed our daily phone call, just chatting about what we did that day and life and the day's news. Every day since she died I think of calling her only to remember that she is beyond the reach on AT&Ts network. Then I'm happy that she is with her loved ones in heaven but I'm saddened because I miss her here on earth.