Remembering My Mom
Once again I have lost track of time. I didn’t realize Mother’s Day was almost here. Before I share my Monday memory with you in honor of my friends new Making Memories Monday I’d like to remind you that Saturday I will be giving away a copy of Mozart for a Mother’s Soul. This was the first book I published and the one most near and dear my heart. To sign up for a chance to win all you have to do is leave a comment and wish your own mom a Happy Mother’s Day!
Today’s memory is actually a poem I wrote about my mom and one that I included in my last book, Mom:PhD. The poem never fails to remind me of how much we loved each other and what a blessing she was to me and all those who knew her.
Mother
by Teresa Bell Kindred
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When you are young, she is cookies and milk after school.
She is a comforting hug after a bad dream in the middle of the night.
She is the cold rag on a feverish forehead.
A calm strength when you are frightened.
By the time you are a teenager, she is nosy and bossy.
She has more advice than Dear Abby.
She is old and out of touch.
She insists you go to church and prays daily you will not stray too far from the principles she has taught you.
She is the first to jump to your defense when someone criticizes you, and the first to tell you when you are wrong.
Years pass. You are a young woman and it is your wedding day.
She is more than your mother; she is your friend and she rejoices at your happiness.
The proud look on her face tells the world how much she loves you.
When she becomes a grandmother, the advice she gave you when you were a child suddenly takes on new meaning.
She never tires of hearing about her grandchildren’s antics or accomplishments, and she relishes in relating stories about them over and over to anyone who will listen.
When she holds her grandchild in her arms, you see the same look of love on her face that was there for you when you were a child.
More years pass and time begins to take its toll.
Her hair is now gray and her face lined with wrinkles. Her eyesight and hearing are failing.
Her body is bent and her step unsure.
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She is forgetful and frail and then one day … she is gone.
She is memories of comforting hugs in the middle of the night, cookies and milk after school, the proud look on her face the day of your wedding, the loving way she held your child.
She’s gone, and yet she is with you because when you look in the mirror, you see the woman she molded, as well as the little girl who still longs to run to the comfort of her mother’s arms.
Now it is your turn to do the things she did, and when you do them
You remember her love and realize that at last you know her secret.
A mother is mortal, with imperfections and failings.
She cannot solve the problems of the universe, nor can she protect her children from every danger.
She can only try.
You wish with all your heart that you could tell her “thank you” one more time.
And you can almost hear her whisper, “Thank me by loving your children as much as I loved you.”
She has given you something priceless, the legacy of her love.
Shirley Layne DeMumbrum Bell 1939-1990
Well, we are saving te best for last. I happened to be that sweet Versie Mosiers favorite daughter. She has a really soft spot in her heart for me. She told me one day, since I didn’t have children of my own that I would never truely knoew how much she loves me. She has made it very clear to all of us how much we are loved. Here’s to all you Mother’s.
Sherley Bell was my second mom. I loved her dearly!
Teresa
Would love to have a photo of the Mosier girls with Momma Versie to put on Nanahood this week in honor of Mom’s Day. Do you or any of your sisters have one you can send me?
Okay, I happened to be lucky enough to get Versie Mosier for my mom too. Thanks Kim and Pam for saying what I was thinking. Thanks TB for a great poem. I didn’t know Shirley Bell very well, but I loved her because I love you. She must have been great, cause the apple usually doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Happy Mother’s Day to my precious Momma, sisters and friends.
Tammy
Thanks Glenda. 20 years has eased the ache in my heart but I miss her still. Always will. I know you understand. Blessings to you!
Teresa
Praying for you mom and for you. Blessings to you and to her this Mother’s Day!
Teresa
I love Momma Versie too! Hope she has a great Mother’s Day. Are you guys coming home to take her out? If so, call me!
How sweet, Marilyn. She sounds like a wonderful woman! Aren’t we lucky to have had such great moms?
Blessings to you,
Teresa
Well I have to ditto Kim Mosier Kisers reply. I feel so lucky I still have my precious Mother, Versie Mosier, here for at least one more Mothers Day. She is and always has been the most awesome person (and especially mother) she dedicated her life to her girls and God (and Daddy too). I thank her everyday for being the best mom a girl could ever hope for. I also just hope my boys think I was half the mom my mom taught me to be!!
Happy Mothers Day Momma—you are the best!!!
Great poem Teresa—I so loved your mom.
Hi Jennifer, I read your post about your boys, camping, etc and tried to post but I couldn’t post (I don’t have a google account and couldn’t figure out how to work the other choices) Anyway, it was a great post and your boys look like they had a great time. Blessings to you and their Grandma and hope you both have a great Mother’s Day! Teresa
Thank you for the post and what sweet memories you have! Blessings to you! Teresa
Hi Jan, I have heard about you too! Blessings to you and I hope we meet next time I visit my Mosier buddies! Teresa
Hey Teresa-I am a friend of Teresa Redd Perez and Pam Sayne, and have heard about “Teresa Bell” for years. I want to meet you sometime, meanwhile, I loved your thoughts on your Mom. She sounds like a great woman, Mom and is beautiful too. I will send my Mom your words, which are so thoughtfully expressed. Thank You, Jan
What a beautiful tribute to your mother! Thank you for sharing your poem. My mother has been dead for many years but she is always close in my heart. I loved her dearly and always felt very loved by her. She was quiet and sweet and all my friends loved her, too. She made everyone feel welcome and special. I especially loved when she would play the piano and we would sing all the old favorites and when we did things together with Girl Scouts. Happy Mother’s Day in heaven, Mom!!
Teresa, your poem is absolutely beautiful! Thank you for sharing it with us at Making Memories Monday. My Mom is in the “awesome Grandma” stage. I love watching her with my boys, and remembering all of the fun things she did with us when we were younger. This week my MMM post is about my boys’ Cub Scout camping trip this weekend – GRANDMA took them! They all had a fantastic time!
My Mother is certainly in Heaven. She took poverty mixed with love and sacrifice and made life Heavenly for our family. In this way our family was never poor.
Well, i remember that sweet Shirley Bell! She was such a beautiful lady! Teresa, your poem was all so true!
Well, I feel compelled to put my mother up on a pedistel this Mother’s Day! I truely do not know how she did it! She raised 4 great daughters (if I do say so myself) in a time when life was simpler but harder in a lot of ways! The funny thing is, we didn’t know it was harder because our parents especially our mother made everything alright!
Mom gave us all the unconditional love that only a mother has to give! She made sure we knew we were the most loved girls in Metcalfe County! She made all of our friends feel as if they were a part of our family, and everyone always felt welcome and at home in the Mosier house!
Every day i pray that I can be a mother just like mine! Heck, I’ll take half as good as mine! She was and is absolutley the best mother I could have ever ask for and I give her all the credit for making me the person I am today! I love Versie Mosier more that I can say and I know all of you that know her love her too!
My mom has been battling cancer for two years, so it is not that difficult to celebrate her. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. I absolutely love and enjoy being a mom. Thanks for sharing your poem.
I loved your poem, Teresa. It made me long to have my mother back. What a beautiful tribute to your mom!