The only other things I did was finalize Mom's obituary which will be in tomorrow's Des Moines Register and then take two naps because I was pooped.
I thought it would be nice to share some fond memories of Mom in today's blog, so here goes.
Mom (and Dad) always attended any school event I was involved in - which was mainly band - and that started when I was in Olmsted Elementary when we lived in Urbandale. I remember Mom saying how she would bundle up on cold Friday nights to sit on hard bleachers at football games to watch me march in the pre-game and halftime shows and then drive home. She wasn't there for football - she was there to see me.
In 1st or 2nd grade we had a little turtle in the classroom that was named Myrtle the Turtle. I was the last kid to leave the classroom the last day of school and guess what the teacher presented me with - Myrtle! So out I walk to the car - Mom picked me up that day - with Myrtle and one of those little, clear, plastic turtle "dishes". Mom said there were different times she'd walk in my room and find my cat, Mewsette, up on my desk "playing" with Myrtle. That meant that Myrtle was on her back and Mewsette was pawing at her - so Mom would rescue Myrtle.
I don't remember why I wanted a hamster but I did when we lived in Urbandale. So one day Dad and I headed to I think Merle Hay Mall and bought Valentine (I think we bought her 2/15) and brought her home in a box and set her on the kitchen table in the parsonage. Mom walks in, sees the box - then the box moved and she said, "what's that?!" I honestly don't know if Mom thought Valentine made her think of a mouse or not but when Valentine got really sick - Mom nursed that little hamster back to health and Valentine made the move to Pella with us and Mewsette.
We took some awesome family vacations when I was a kid - all by car. And Dad would always want to get an early start so he'd tell Mom and me what time he'd want to leave in the morning - say 6:00 a.m. At 5:00 a.m. Dad would be on the couch ready to go wondering why Mom and I weren't ready. I remember many years hearing Mom tell Dad that if you wanted to leave at 5:00 a.m. you should have told us 5:00 a.m. And then once you got Dad behind the wheel of the car - we were good to drive until sunset if we wouldn't have had to stop for gas. Poor Mom, she had to take water pills which meant she would need a restroom break periodically and Dad sometimes didn't think she really needed to stop. So Mom would give me the signal and I'd tell Dad I needed to go to the bathroom - he'd always stop for me. Now that Dad has been prescribed a water pill he understands what Mom meant when she said she would need a bathroom :)
We moved to Pella and I got my permit the day I turned 14. Mom and Dad were really good to let me drive all the time with them - mostly with Dad but sometimes with Mom. The kicker with Mom was that she was famous for gasping and then grabbing the dashboard while I was driving - and scare the poo out of me. I wouldn't see what either was in my way or I'd done wrong and she wouldn't tell me either but she'd do the gasp and grab.
I drove a pretty, red Maverick in high school and Mom happened to be with me when the mileage flipped to 666 - right when I was getting ready to park it in the garage in Pella. Well..........I couldn't park my car with the mileage being 666 so I took Mom for a drive - a mile drive - in a circle around the tree in the church parking lot :) Maybe that's when she learned the gasp and grab. You know, a mile isn't that long but it sure can seem long when you're driving in a circle (quickly - basically doing donut after donut after donut around the tree). Maybe that's where I got my love for NASCAR :)
I'm not sure if it was our last Christmas with Mike or the next to last but Mom decided she was going to do Christmas shopping through catalogs (Lillian Vernon, Walter Drake, Current, etc.) and Mike and I were to let her know what we found in those catalogs to give her ideas on what to get us. Well, we gave her ideas in August or September so when Christmas arrived we had totally forgotten what we had told her we were interested in. That was the best Christmas in a long time because we got things we either really wanted, or had thought about getting to try out but didn't want to take the time to order :)
Mom decided she wanted to do that again last Christmas, so I gave her ideas from Current and a couple of other catalogs - along with giving her a discount coupon I had from Current. One day a box arrived on my enclosed porch and I knew I hadn't ordered anything. I picked the box up and it was from Current and I started to chuckle because I figured it was some of my Christmas present. Mom ordered through the mail and used my Current coupon but had not changed the address to be their address. So the next time I went to Pella I handed her the box and told her I thought it was probably something she ordered. She just smiled.
Like it will be noted in her obituary tomorrow, Mom was very good at correspondence and sending cards. It was always a challenge to open one of her cards because of how well she strategically put stickers on the back of the envelope flap.
Mom and I had always been able to talk ever since I was a teenager. My last good visit with Mom was this past Tulip Time. Dad and I had a good time walking through West Market park looking at all the vendors and then going through Scholte House garden and checking out the old tractors. Dad had to leave for a while to perform a wedding so Mom and I were able to visit - little did I know that would be our last good chat. I cherish that time we had.
My red hibiscus that I call Cyclone getting ready to have both red blooms and at least one yellow bloom - they will probably be open tomorrow morning.
