In Memory of My Mom

January is known to be the month of "new beginnings," but I don't always look

forward to this month of the year. When I was 5 years old, my baby brother died in January. When I was 17 years old, my mother died in January. Both are in heaven. . . but both are missed.

I'm writing this post because the end of January marks 20 years that my mother has been gone. I don't want to tell you how her death has affected me, but rather how her life influenced me. I love you Mom!

My mom was sick. . . often. She developed Mono and Hepatitis C when she was a young adult.Though I don't know all the medical "lingo," I do know that the Hepatitis C causes Cirrhosis of the liver. Through her life, my mother had many health issues due to those two illnesses. In 1992 she had a liver transplant, but her body did not accept it. She died at the age of 42.

Through all her sickness, my mother never "let on" about how badly she felt. She was a very strong and determined woman. She was given a poor prognosis early on, but it did not cause her to give up. She often said she wanted to live long enough to see me graduate high school and get married. . . she did not make it for either.

She was a wonderful mom and all the friends in my neighborhood thought she was the "cool" mom. They would come over and chat with her and I remember one of my friends even bringing her roses when she was sick. She loved buying things for me, but didn't want me to be too spoiled. . . don't know if that worked out ;)

She was very strict with me concerning school. She pushed me to do what she knew I could do. I remember

when I was in 4th grade, I received a C in math. She was NOT happy, but my dad thought it was no big deal. She told him that it would be no big deal if I were a "C" student, but I was and "A" student, so I better get my act together. Needless to say, that was my last "C" until I took a 4 credit Chemistry course in college.

And, speaking of college, there was no question as to whether I would go or not. I grew up knowing I would attend college. Now, mind you, I could never decide what I wanted to "be" when I was an adult, but that's probably because she had me involved in so much - gymnastics, dance class, tennis lessons, soccer, track, piano,

acting, choir, . . .

Anyways, I wanted to share some pictures of my mom. I do still miss her and wish she could have met my children. I know she would have spoiled them rotten! :)