Saturday, May 11, 2019

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from Springtime in Iowa!  It is a bit chilly, but we are not complaining when north of us the Duluth area has had up to 10 inches of snow just a couple of days ago.  We lived in Duluth from 1972-74 when Joel was forecasting weather for the pilots at the Air Force Base where he was stationed.  Summers were chilly, especially if you went down the big hill to Lake Superior.  Winters could be brutal and long!  It was so beautiful there though.  One of my favorite places to go was down to Superior where you could sit on the slate slabs of rock and watch the endless water.  Our oldest daughter married a guy from the Duluth area and they were married there on an unusually warm fall day.  It has been years since we have been back to Duluth, but we have many fond memories of the times we have spent there.

It is Mother's Day weekend and my mind cannot help but go to the women in my life who nurtured and mothered me.  My two older sisters, eleven and fifteen years older than me, both helped raise me.  Jan took care of me when I was a baby and a few summers were spent with her and her family over my childhood.  I moved in with Jo first when I was 10 and then at age 12 when they became my guardians until I went off to The Lutheran Bible Institute at 18.  I am forever grateful for what they did for me, and for their love over the years.  I am forever grateful for Jo opening her home and her family to me.  Her four kids, close in age to me, became my siblings.  A blessing.



You see, my mom was an alcoholic by the time I was born and battled addiction for many years, becoming sober the year Joel and I were married.  My dad died when I was seven and my older sisters were off on their own so it was just mom and me for many years as she struggled to keep a roof over our heads and keep alcohol from destroying her life.   God gave me a second family and a safe place with my sister Jo when I needed it most.

When my mom quit drinking, we began to heal our relationship.  She really was an amazing woman who went through a great deal in her life and still, came through it all stronger and better.  She was a great blessing to our kids, who well remember her visits, card games and of course games of yahtzee.  She would come spend a couple of weeks with us when we lived in Montana, Duluth, etc.  One of my favorite things to do with her was dance!  She was an amazing dancer!  We would turn on the radio and dance the two step......oh, she was so graceful in her movements.  We would play yahtzee and Rummy, do crosswords, and she loved to come and scrub my pots and pans until they shined.  I was not so good at that!  We would talk every week on the phone.  She worked until she was 76 as a timekeeper.  She was so smart, and could add numbers in her head so quickly!  When she retired she moved to South Dakota to be near my sister Jan and she lived a full life until the age of 92, playing bingo, going to Bible Study, spending time at her favorite coffee shop every day, and enjoying the family that lived close by.  She taught me how to live through the tough times and how to take life one day at a time. I miss her.

I also need to mention Joel's mom who died in 2011 at the age of 93.  She was a conservative woman of God who was frugal, made most things from scratch, worked hard and loved her family.  When Joel's dad died ~ he was 16, she went back to work as a teacher in the last one room school house that still existed in their county.  (Joel attended a one room schoolhouse from first through eight grade himself!)  It took a few years for Mom T. to accept me, the "city" girl who in her way of thinking, took her "country"boy away from home, but we became close and grew to love each other.

Today I honor all of them and give thanks for them in our lives.  I hope this gives you pause, and has you remembering the women in your lives who mothered and nurtured each of you.  And, Happy Mother's Day!


1 comment:

Jan said...

Well written Renee! Yes I miss mom too! She was fun, had quick wit and like you said awesome dancer and also Great on rollerskates as her mother our grandmotherr was!
she got me my first pair of roller-skates when I was three but I was never as good as she was at it . Lots of memories my sister Renee’ love you, Janey