Tribute

My daughter is presenting her family heritage project tomorrow (first grade) and we (I) decided to do it on my mother who died nearly 20 years ago. It was neat gathering things together so that Nora has a tangible handle on my mother's memory. We leafed through an old photo album in which my mom had written comments on her pictures. One of them was of my mom at around 11 or 12 years of age and she had a giant bow in her hair. Across her face she wrote, "How Perfectly Horrible". She always had such a good sense of humor, and was so grounded about herself and the people around her. Nora and I assembled some special treasures that belonged to my mother including a piece of her jewelry; her sterling silver hairbrush, comb and mirror set; her Elgin compact; her Sheaffer fountain pen; and a handful of photographs. The best item, though, is the stunning black velvet cocktail dress that my mother and I both wore when we were in our twenties. It's so gorgeous, I hope to see both of my girls wear it some day. Nora thinks her grandmother was beautiful - and she was. It's good to make time to remember her. I don't do it that often. My mother was, in modern terms, a stay-at-home-mom. She wasn't famous, and she didn't have a career. But she was a good person and a terrific mother. Smart, funny and musical. My mother knew the power of a hug and gave of herself without asking anything in return. She made me who I am, and I am forever grateful to her. Of course I miss her, and that is something that gives my life meaning. She was and remains the most incredible person to me.