(Pay It) Forward Friday, Friday, March 14, 2014

Today marks TWO years since Mother died...I thought I would spend a few minutes sharing some pictures of her and letting you know her better...

Mother was born on January 25, 1932...

Mother was pretty...she wasn't gorgeous, but she radiated LIFE...

She played the piano some, but she didn't think she was any good, so I only heard her play a few times in my life...It was important for her to give me the opportunity to learn and she encouraged me to keep practicing...She always wished she would have stuck with it...Mother had a BEAUTIFUL alto voice and often sang with her sister at many church meetings...I never knew Mother NOT to sing...she sang in the choir until she could no longer go to church!  She OFTEN sang at home and as I learned later in my life, she would sing her troubles away...she would sing the same song over and over and IT DROVE me crazy sometimes, BUT she was PRAYING through her songs...I was such a brat...

Mother was a twin, and she was the youngest...Mother was the last of 8 children...Aunt Mary and Mother were VERY different...Mother always said that Aunt Mary got all of the brains.  Mother was the social butterfly.

Mother was FEARLESS...WHEN she WANTED to do something, she LEARNED...She learned to drive AFTER she was married because she thought it was important.  She was NOT a woman's libber, BUT she believed that she could DO WHATEVER she needed to do!  I am CERTAIN that she made the dress she is wearing!  This is the car she learned to drive...

Mother was a YOUNG mother...She was 19 when she married and 20 when she had Bob.  She and Daddy lacked ONE DAY being married 9 months when my oldest brother was born...SHE and DADDY LOVED being parents...they hit a dry spell and it was 8 years before they would have another child....

Mother was ALWAYS ready to GO...she loved to travel...she never traveled UNTIL she got married and they went to Oklahoma on their honeymoon...Mother always tried to put her best foot forward.  During her life, she was able to travel to South America twice, to Japan and China and to approximately 38 of the states.

Mother was  a good worker...She could type about 80 words a minute and to watch her use an adding machine was AMAZING!!  This was in 1959 when she worked for the City of Springfield to cover for someone on maternity leave...Mother didn't work outside of the home very often.  Her first job was working for a bank where she checked signatures on checks.  She would ride the bus to Nashville each day to work for Third National Bank.  When Mother would work at a place, she would save her money and buy something special with the money.

Mother was a wife.  She loved Daddy and the reason she married him was because she said that he loved his Aunt Jenny so much and she KNEW that he would love her...Daddy was 9 years older than Mother, so we called her "an old man's darling"...Mother was from a broken home and it was VERY important that she worked to keep her marriage vows...There were many hard days, BUT they both stuck it out and NEVER EVER filled our home with petty differences...This was taken on their 8th Wedding Anniversary on July 18, 1959

Mother was stylish!!  LOL...she made all of her clothes...On the back of this picture she wrote:  32 years old...Black cotton linen...like fabric with ascot tie and 4 square cut buttons...green-gold jewelry (necklace & earring)...She was an EXCELLENT seamstress...I never had a bought dress UNTIL I was 13 years old...
Mother ALSO made beautiful floral arrangements...(see to her left)

This picture SHOWS the personality of my mother...LAUGHING!!  She was so bubbly and had a wonderful sense of humor...SHE laughed...

Mother loved me, BUT OH, HER BOYS were the LIGHT of her life...This is Mother watching over the middle child and his two children...

Mother and Daddy waited a LONG time to have grandchildren, BUT oh, how they LOVED it!  This was the first grandchild, Kaylen...They didn't get to see her much since they lived in Seattle, but they loved her!!

 

Mother loved being a Mother and a Grandmother...WHAT joy they brought to her life...

 Mother LOVED like no person I have ever seen...SELDOM did she leave a phone conversation WITHOUT saying I LOVE YOU...

I would LIKE to ask EVERYONE who reads this to join me in 

(Pay It) FORWARD FRIDAY...

In memory of my mother, PLEASE take a moment today to tell ONE PERSON that is special to you that 

YOU LOVE THEM...

I can think OF NOTHING that would bring Mother greater JOY...

I LOVE YOU for joining me in my little corner of the world...

Blessings to YOU...~charlotte♥