Happy Mother's Day - Sentimental Sunday - No. 10

We interrupt this Mother’s Day celebration to honor two very special Mother’s. Sylvia and Jeane. They were instrumental in shaping Richard and I into the adults we are. Our lives are richer for having been blessed with two such incredible women that we call Mom!

Sylvia Maurine – Cindy’s Mom – June 7, 1922 ~ October 14, 1986

Her laugh – dancing with her in the middle of the living room – going to lunch and shopping together – when we watched movies, if there was anything risqué in them, she would cover her eyes, but would always peek through her fingers – the day she made pecan pies for a party and dropped them as she took them out of the oven.. she was SO mad… but we laughed together and made more – the way she would rub my forehead when I didn’t feel well – the way she could always find something funny to say, even in inappropriate situations… like a funeral… she would lean over to me, say something funny in my ear, and then sit stoically with a straight face… all the while I was doubled over with the giggles – the way she could start a conversation with ANYONE… ANYWHERE… - she was such a talented artist - the day she came to my third grade class and helped us all make papier-mâché dolls for a class project – her lack of sense of direction – the day she lost the car in a mall parking lot… because we were looking on the wrong level… a security guard had to drive us all over the parking structure to find it – going to the ballet together – how much she loved my Dad – how open she was with me about life and love. Her cooking – her hugs – her kisses.

Jeane Louise – Richard’s Mom – April 16, 1915 ~ September 2, 1994

She was an independent hard working woman. She educated herself and supported my sister and me after she and my dad divorced. No matter how busy she was, she made sure to attend all of my sporting events and was my biggest cheerleader. She loved the musical “South Pacific” and played the soundtrack repeatedly. Her love of family and friends – she was an excellent Bridge player. She was very competitive, but in a good way – and she enjoyed all types of sports. I remember bringing my “new dad” home to meet her for the first time. My older sister, Sue, and I “set them up.” They fell in love and married a few years later. And a few years after that we were all surprised and thrilled to learn there would be an addition to the family – my sister Kelly. She could “rough it” on a camping trip – or be pampered in a nice hotel. I remember one vacation – we were all exhausted and looking for a roadside motel to spend the night. She made my Dad drive from motel to motel until she found “just the right one.” She was a lady in the truest sense of the word – she had excellent taste and was extremely proper. I miss her always – but especially on her birthday and Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mother’s out there – and especially to the memory of two really excellent women – our Mom’s.