Hazel Frances Russell Heaton was born Oct. 17, 1923. She was the oldest of 5 children. Her mom, my grandmother, was a fabulous cook. My mom....good, but not fabulous. She used to tell me that her mom would say, "Hazel, do you want to cook or watch the babies?" She always opted for watching the babies!!! She was the most kind gentle soul, I've ever met. Even at her most angry, she was calm and quiet. I did not inherit any of these traits from her. I think I'm more like my dad. That, is a subject for another blog!! She was very old fashioned. She always reminded me to be a little more lady-like. She never EVER swore. She was always thoughtful of others, and never put herself first.
There is a story of how I was announced or discovered to the family. My mom was 40 years old and thought that she had gone through menopause. She became sick at her stomach and couldn't get over it. The other kids had the stomach flu but somehow, she couldn't get over hers. My dad took a sample of our well water in for testing. She went into the hospital because she had become dehydrated. when the doctor finished testing, he informed everyone that the only thing wrong was that she was a good 6 weeks pregnant. He noted that with her age, there could be complications and if she wanted to do something about it(abort) she could. So, my first gift, she carried me to term and taught me to respect life. Thank you Mama.
My mom, always made us go to church. It wasn't an option. She never missed. She always read her sunday school lesson. She loved the old hymns. She was not very demonstrative about her faith. I rarely ever heard her pray. I always saw her pray though. My second gift, God first, family second, go to church and you will be able to handle whatever comes your way. Thank you mama.
My parents were married for 54 yrs before she died. I didn't say that they were always in sync or always happy happy. Nope, they argued, stayed mad for days, griped about each other to us kids. But, they worked it out, never gave up, always stayed together and knew that they were each others best friend and honored the commitments to God. Yes, that's quite a gift, thank you Mama.
When things weren't easy for me or I griped about my situation or my husband, my mom had a number of different things that she'd tell me. They usually included, oh, you can stand on your head for that long ( or this will pass) or you can do this, don't give up or you picked a fine man to be your husband, he is a man, but he's good, work it out. Pray about it. Pray without ceasing. Your the smartest girl. Your so good . I'm so proud of you. You're so creative. You're such a good mom. Some of the best gifts....thank you mama.
When my mom was dying and in the hospital and it was my turn to sit with her as I lived close by, she insisted that I go home because my kids were young. Now, I'm just fine. The kids need you and you need to be home with them. She was so totally calm when she said this. She said she was tired and going to sleep. Please just go home to your kids. So, I went home. The next day, my sisters said that she had gotten upset at the hospital. She was afraid to die alone. But, she sent me home because she was as always, thinking of me first. Thank you mama.
I will always miss her. Most days are happy memories. Today, I am a little blue. I think it's because I am selfish and miss what she did for me. But, I am so thankful for having had her. And how fitting is it that my lovely little mama left this world on all saints day? I think it is just right. So, happy happy all saints day mama and daddy. I miss you both. I love you both. I didn't appreciate you enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment