Remembering My Mother

My mother passed away on Tuesday, October 26, 2010.

Good Lord! She was a great mother!

I miss her. I miss talking to her on the phone every night. I miss her swearing at me. I miss her...EVERYTHING.

My mom was the very best mother in the world. She had no contentions. Her only contention was that a person could not laugh at her corney jokes, accept her own ways and love her for who she was. Mom was very true to her very own self.

I find myself here tonight, wanting to share the whole story about my mothers life.

My mom was my best friend, closest confidant and always....ALWAYS...picked my side. I loved her and she loved me unconditionally. It was great to have someone on my side all of the time. It had been that way since my childhood, teen-age years and into adulthood. Lots of daughters have ups and downs with their mom's but I think my relationship with my ma was pretty much always UP.

Don't get me wrong, we have our spats. But they never last longer than a day. And they were always about something stupid.

One spat lasted a few days, but I was kinda trashed when I ticked her off so after lots of teasing she forgave me. She's was best. My mom a.k.a. "The Suz" had a great sense of humor! God, how we laughed together.

She was a super-fantastic photographer and writer. I wish I had half her talent . She swore like a trucker, cooked like Julia child , and decorated better than anything I've seen on HGTV! Mom loved and made the best dirty martini this side of heaven. She knew myself and her grandaughter, Michelle, preferred a good bottle of Boujeles wine so she surprised us and bought an entire CASE of it!

Mom was the bomb.

What I know is that even though I am 47 years old I still valued my Mothers opinion. I knew she would never steer me in the wrong direction. I believed that when my mom told me I was right then I was right. I knew when my mom told me I was wrong then I was wrong.

Rewind. 40 years - one of my earliest memories of mom. I am four. Sitting on the front porch of our tiny Chicago bungalow, head tucked in, arms cradling my knees and studying my new, red ,KED gym-shoes. Mom comes out the door in jeans and a t-shirt ( her favorite dress code) and the white, aluminum storm-door slams behind her. "Hey Teets-a-bell! You wanna go for a walk?" She reaches her strong hand out towards me and I take it.We walk. My tiny hand tightly clenched in hers.

I want to skip. We skip. She skips. I want to sing . We sing. She sang. We walk and talk and walk and talk. I feel so loved and important. There is nowhere else I want to be. I absolutely adored my mom.

Even though my she is no longer here in body with me I know her spirit is. My hand is still clenched in hers. We still walk, we still talk, we still sing. Our song was like no other. I’ll miss my best friend and my beautiful mother.