Mom

I have been sitting here reading all the posts about Mom and crying. What a legacy she has left us!

Our Temple President asked to meet with me. I deliberately set the appointment on Mom's birthday. He asked me to be a Temple Ordinance Worker. I had a feeling that was going to be it and I wanted it to be on Mom's Day. After talking with him I did a session. The woman's name I did the temple endowment for was "Ellen." No last name, only the year 1850. That was cool!

I was worried about accepting this calling. I am out of town a lot and believe it or not there are a lot of demands on my time. No little or big kids at home, but I still have more than enough to keep me busy! After the session I went upstairs in our beautiful Celestial Room. I almost always take a minute to say a prayer and sometimes for fun I randomly open up one of the sets of scriptures and read something. Today it was Doctrine and Covenants 25 where the Lord is talking to Emma. There were all my answers to all my concerns and it talked about an "elect lady". How fitting on Mom's day! She was an elect lady! It has been a good day!

Mom had gone for surgery that spring to have her veins stripped. Dr. Kerr made a horrible mistake...one that would eventually cause Mom's death. He cut a main artery in her leg. A blood clot developed. They almost lost her on the operating table. They thought she was going to die. Then they thought she was going to lose her leg and then that they could save her leg but she would always walk with a limp. They chased it down her leg leaving horrendous scars from the top of her thigh down to mid calf. The one was 14 inches long. She spent what seemed like a long time in the hospital and we stayed with Aunt Mary and Uncle Clyde. Imagine what it would have been like to wake up and find out that instead of having your Beauty Queen legs back you now had a slashed mess.

When she came home Dad slept on the couch. She thought it was so he didn't hurt her. I took over the household except for meals and ironing Dad's shirts. I could do all the rest of the ironing but Mom would do his shirts so they were done just right. No spray starch. That was lazy. They were washed, hung out to dry and then dipped in starch and hung out to dry again, dampened and then ironed. He waited till Oct. 10th or 11th, long enough to make sure Mom was going to be alright he said and then left. I could write pages in vivid detail because I remember it in vivid detail. Mom was upset...Mom only cried once that I remember before the divorce. She was always rather stoic. Now she was crying a lot.

Jack always had to know what was going on so she was the first to ask what the matter was. I was 12, Jack was 10, Paula 7 and Joan 5 years old. Dad told Mom one night on the phone that we were almost grown and he needed to think about his happiness. I always thought it was hardest on Jack. For a long time after Dad left Mom never could go anywhere that Jack didn't pitch a fit. I was not sympathetic at all. I was a horrible older sister to her. I will always regret that. Paula and Joani didn't seem to hardly notice. I think because Dad had been gone so much. He left in Oct and we didn't see him again until my birthday in March. That's Thanksgiving and Christmas with no Dad. If "the little kids" asked we just said he was on a business trip. They seemed to be fine with that.

When Dad left he sent $400.00 each month for child support. It was not much to live on even then. The house payment was $125.00, utilities, food, clothing etc. Our bishop told Mom not to worry about paying tithing on the child support. If Dad didn't do it that was his problem. Mom went with that until we moved to Utah and our new bishop, Bishop Bishop (her brother-in-law from her marriage to Dell) said that she should start paying on it. Mom did pay on it. She told me when she got her first job her dad had sat her down and told her she should always pay the Lord His 10% first, pay herself meaning 10% in savings, live on the rest...And to Never Bounce a Check! Mom was always amazing with her money. No one could make it go farther.

This sounds so sad....and it was, but most importantly Mom went on and always did her best even when life sucked. She taught me all the good things like paying tithing even when it was hard by her example. She was faithful! She always said she was not brave or strong, but she is the bravest, strongest woman I will ever know. I will never be my mom but I am me and the best parts of me I owe to her. She has given me such a rich heritage I can never repay only hope to pass on in part!

I still love and miss her! I am looking forward to seeing her again someday!
Le Anne

PS One of my favorite memories is having Mom play the piano and all of us singing. She could do so many things so well! Do you remember the movie they made of her and Glen dancing. A lot of it was in silhouette. She was so good!