May 10, 2026, the 130th day of 2026
Happy Mohers' Day!
Mother's Day is always harder when your mother has passed away, but it is still good to remember the impact they had on our lives.... View MoreMay 10, 2026, the 130th day of 2026
Happy Mohers' Day!
Mother's Day is always harder when your mother has passed away, but it is still good to remember the impact they had on our lives.
Mothers have so much placed upon them that we will never fully understand or comprehend. Carrying that life within them changes a woman. And caring for the child or children that follow mean that she will never be truly her own person again.
Mothers will stumble as they adjust to their changing situation. They learn and adapt. It is not about being perfect or even good at motherhood. It is about giving life to a child, that without her many sacrifices would not have been born, or reached adulthood to complain about their upbringing.
So, today, I want to stand not only as a child of my mother, but as a witness to her never-ending fortitude to keep going, even if stumbling along the way. I loved her deeply and miss her terribly!
When I look back at my mom, I am amazed that she didn't go nuts raising us nine kids. It was not an easy task. And for the beginning of her marriage she didn't even have the help of her mother, a newly-wed at 16, living in Hawaii. Then at 17 she gave birth to her first son, before ever returning to the mainland.
My mom went to Hawaii as a travel companion for a friend of her mother. It was supposed to be a vacation on the tropical islands. She was supposed to return to her mother after that trip.
But my mom was swept up in the romance of it and my gorgeous 18 year old airforce dad, who was a hunk. Who coule blame her? My would-be grandmother had decided that she would be the perfect wife to her son, stationed in Hawaii.
They had 8 children together. She was pregnant almost every other year, nursing us in between pregnencies. How did she manage anything else!
But she managed a lot!!! She had a farm. We lived in Sothern Wisconsinat at the time and she became a crack shot at hunting rats that tried to invade the barns.
She made homemade bread, made pickles, jams and jellies. She cooked and cleaned, sewed and danced. She loved to dance!
Music of all kimds filled our home, opera, ballets, and rock and roll. She took us to church and she took us to church events. Even without much money I never felt poor. She would teach us that we were to help the poor.
Then she became a widow in her early 30's. She never lost her love for Hawaii, and on her own with 8 children in tow, she moved us to Kawai, one of the most beautiful islands in Hawaii.
The coconut man came to our door in the mornings and split open a coconut for us. We drank the liquid and chewed on fresh coconut. We ate fresh fruit and the amazingly womderful guava juice we usually called "lava juice" being kids.
But being away from family was too hard on her. No one could visit us and in the dead of winter, back home we went. Though gorgeously warm where we were, we piled onto the airplane and headed back to the states and the jarring cold of winter.
Eventually she fell in love with our second dad. They married and at 36 we welcomed baby 9. I was ecstatic!
When I look back I think, can you imagine this woman and all that she had gone through. All of this, days and nights tending us.
Any illness going through our family meant weeks of illnesses that could stretch into months by the we all were done.
We got measles, mumps, Germany measles, chicken pocks, besides numerous colds and flus!
Life was NEVER boring! And that was just being one of the kids. I cannot imagine what it was like to ne the mom!
And our house was always open to any of our friends who wanted to visit or needed a place to stay. Mom would not turn anyone away.
She almost died when she got pregnant with the 10th child. That miscarriage caused her to almost bleed to death before waking to the fact that she would die if she didn't call the ambulance.
But she went on to live a pretty long life after that and saw many of her children married and became Grandma Goose to a multitude of grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Happy Mothers' Day Mom!
Stay strong! Love you moms. If you are living to read this, they deserve your love and thanks.
NAN
