January 1, 2012 HAPPY NEW YEAR and THANKS MOM

This year I took vacation for the 12 Days of Christmas.  It has been grand to wake when my body is rested, have guests over for a lovely lazy brunch or dinner, visit friends,  fall asleep reading a book in the middle of the afternoon and walk at Ft. Snelling State Park.

Santa and Mrs Claus 1997

The first of the year, every year for the past fourteen reminds me of my mom.  As I have said far too often she left this life without my permission!  We celebrated Christmas 1997 on the last Saturday of December.  When all the gifts under the tree were gone, everyone thought the gift giving was over.  It was then that mom brought out a bag of wrapped gifts and with the biggest smile passed them one by one to each of us.  My gift was figurines of Santa and Mrs Claus.  She didn't say much that day but she smiled and she smiled. Perhaps the best part of her smile was that she managed - from her home at Pine Haven Nursing Home to purchase from a catalog and have the gifts sent to her there - then wrapped them and put our names on the right gift for each one of us.

The next day she was taken by ambulance to St. Marys Hospital, Rochester and then transferred to the respiratory intensive care unit where she died less than a week later - I was blessed to be with her when she breathed her last earthly breath.  And I miss her SO much!  That is not to say we got along all the time or even much of the time.  Truth be told the first 38 years of my life we "enjoyed" a more than tense relationship.  Gratefully, all that began changing when I invited mom to have lunch one day at the Henry Wellington restaurant in downtown Rochester.  I miss her immensely - and she is ever-so-close!

There are two things that are always present in my home 1) Santa and Mrs. Claus move around the living room and 2) and the ceramic Christmas Tree mom made while she resided at Pine Haven, it moves from place to place in my loft.  

What doesn't move around is the ways she is "in me,"  the ways she shows up in the most unexpected ways "in my ear" to encourage or challenge or laugh or question ... ...

So on the anniversary of your leaving this life and entering the next ... love and hugz Mom ... and thanks too!