I wanted to share what I wrote for my Mom's funeral...
My mom was spunky from the moment she came into the world. The stories I would hear about her as a child sounded just like her. From taking her baby brothers bottle, drinking it, and pretending she hadn’t, to having a smart aleck answer to everything as a teenager (and she always wondered where I got that from). She would make her own clothes before going out on a Friday night as a teenager, but when I would ask her to sew a button back on my shirt, she would tell me she didn’t know how to sew, lol. She even managed to make her way across country as a teenager, calling her Dad once she got to California, saying she needed money to get back home. Anyone who knew my grandfather knew what that response probably was (let’s just say he was not obliging). And let’s just say she got her karma for that when I was a teenager😜 I slammed many a door in my day, enough to where I believe my door was removed, then my window got screwed shut for sneaking out, which led me to just leave out the front door, lol.
Growing up she was involved in my school activities, field trips, fundraisers, cheerleading games, etc. She even was a substitute teacher and school nurse at my school. She loved having our friends over, she loved her annual Christmas party, and even made sure everyone that came had a gift. She would let my and my best friend Kathy go to McDonalds as kids, as long as we would just let her sleep. She signed permission slips when me and my friend Rebecca wanted to get out belly buttons pierced at 16 (although we did lie and say her mom was fine with it). She even gave us the toilet paper when all the girls from my class wanted to go TP a house where all the boys were one night. We didn’t grow up with a lot of money, but we never did without. We went on trips to Disney, had elaborate Christmas’s, and the latest styles in clothes and shoes.
We would have family dinners at my Nana’s house, swim for hours in the pool, and eat ice cream sundaes. Somehow we even had a boat for a while, even though my dad didn’t even know how to swim and never liked the water. (I assume my Mom had the influence over that). She loved the water and the beach. As a kid she vacationed in Miami Beach, and I have also heard stories of her surfing in coco beach. I think that sense of adventure is what drew her to become an air ambulance nurse for a while. Also at one point she freelance wrote for the Seminole Tribes newspaper and ended up with my sister in Germany for 3 weeks at the world tribal fair.
It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies growing up (who’s childhood is), especially once her health, unfortunately some self inflicted, started going downhill. There were fights, there are regrets, there are bad memories, but I want to remember the good. I want to remember the vibrant, feisty Mom who was there for me no matter what, even when she couldn’t be there physically. I want to remember the Mom who would text me silly pictures while watching my kids, or texting me to ask why my 3 year old is pulling his pants down and telling her to kiss his butt. I want to remember the unconditional love she had for her 5 grandsons, Logan, Jaxson, Mason, Braden, and Blake, and her first granddaughter, Charlotte whom I am so glad she was able to meet before she passed away. I want to remember the love my parents once shared before things went the other way. I want to remember the unbelievable love she had for Whitney even though her and Whitney didn’t always see eye to eye. You see, Whitney was the first born, she made my Mom a Mom, and her Mom, our Nana, a Grandma. Whitney and Nana share a unbelievable bond and because of that, I think my Mom was a little jealous of that. But that didn’t mean she didn’t love them the same. The strain between my Mom and Nana was noticeable at times, but from conversations I have had with both of them individually, the love between them is great. It’s the love of a mother and child. It’s a love that even though you may have times you don’t like what the other says or does, the love for each other never waivers. It’s funny that the relationship she had with her Mom, she had with her first daughter. I wonder if anyone but me even noticed that? Or the fact that she was jealous of her Baby brother, Kim, who also shares a great bond with their Mom, like I did with my Mom. She didn’t love her brother any less, it was a normal brotherly love. Even though he was younger, she looked up to him (in more ways than one, lol). She was so proud of the man he had become, and the wife he choose, and the children he raised. She knew that Whitney and I looked at our Nini and Uncle as second parents. That we would talk to them about stuff we never would with our own parents, and she was grateful for that. And last but not least, I want to remember the love she had for her son in laws, Brad and Mike. She was grateful for the men we married, even though sometimes we are not. KIDDING! If ever Whitney or I complained, like most spouses do, she always took their sides and would say she didn’t know how they did it.
I want to remember all these things. I want my sister, my dad, my Nana, and my Nini, Uncle, and cousins, Matthew and Ashley, whom my Mom also loved very much, to remember these good times, and their own good times. I want us as a family to continue to be there for each other like I know my Mom would want. I want us to honor her by loving each other and loving all the good, bad, and ugly moments that our family has had and will continue to have even though our Mom is gone...
We love you Mom and we will remember the good times, and the love we all share for each other...
