Will You Still Need Me When I'm 64?

Mom's Story continued ~

I love this photo. I asked my husband how old he thought Mom was in it and his response ~ "Well, she is holding one of her kids, so I would say in her mid-30's." In reality, she's holding my one-month old son and she's twice the age he predicted. Yes, it blows me away, too, to think she was 64 at the time.

I love the way she is holding my son, like a precious china doll. My how she loves her grandson. To this day they have a very close relationship. But then my Mom loves her three children and three grandchildren equally. She has always felt a bit useless because "all I did was be a housewife and raise kids," but we have been the lucky recipients of her devotion to her family.

She raised my brothers to be men. Dad may have taught them the broad brushstrokes of what that means, but she taught them the finer points ~ how a husband treats his wife, how family sticks together, how children need their dad.

She raised me to be an independent woman with options, yet she never strayed far from the central theme of family. I could be anything I wanted but nursing and teaching were both good professions to have while raising children.

She would push us kids into this activity or that, and once we were squared away she would take it up too. I have vivid memories of her packing lunch for us and dutifully carry it to the lodge where she would await our return from the ski slopes. Once we all moved out she announced to Dad that it was time she and he took up cross country skiing, so off they went. That's how it was for her. Family first.

I sometimes wonder if she thinks she sacrificed too much in her single minded devotion to us. But then I see her eyes light up when we are all together and I know we are her treasured possessions. Nothing pleases her more than to see the family loving, supporting and being together.