Mama would be 71 on June 20. She's been gone for nine years. Has it been that long? For a long time after she died I still reached for the phone to call her and when I drove past her neighborhood I would get a lump in my throat or tears would gather in the corner of my eyes. I miss her so! There are little things I miss the most; going by to see her on a Saturday before she went to work. She always had fresh coffee made and a cake or something sweet to eat. That was the German in her - she would show her love by feeding you.
She always put her family first. Mama was not a modern, liberated woman. The only thing she ever wanted to be was a wife and mother. She had a sweet and caring spirit and a sensitive soul and a forgiving heart. And she loved her grandchildren. I remember her last Christmas. Weak from her illness she had still managed to buy toys for the little ones and store them in the closet. I wrapped the presents for her and she gave me money to buy the rest.
Mama was never going to grow old. She had that European porcelain skin, not a wrinkle in sight. Mama believed in cold cream. And at 61 she still dyed her hair a rich, auburn color. Her hands were beautiful and didn't look like the hands of a waitress at all. Mama took care of her hands and she didn't go to a salon.
I look at my raggedy cuticles and chewed off nails and my wrinkled hands and wonder if there is some miracle cream that would give me hands like my mother had. I doubt it.
Happy Mother's Day,
Anita
