Thursday, November 22, 2007

Giving Thanks

Sharon Lalor
11/19/39-4/21/07


Wow...has it really been over two weeks since my last post?! Well, this time of year is crazy for me. I just finished up a bunch of pre-Thanksgiving sewing jobs, as well as squeezing in a trip out to my mother's house last weekend to clean it up and get it ready to sell.

My sister and I went out with Kathleen, and we really made some good headway, for only having a day and a half of work time! We made one trip to the dump, and one trip to Salvation Army. Then we cleaned and "staged" the place. There is still a TON of stuff we need to get organized, but we left things looking very good.

My first bit of thanks for today goes to my mother, who saved some of the cutest stuff from our childhoods. Marj and I found cards sent to my parents when she was born. There are photo albums like you wouldn't believe, as well as boxes of more recent photos, which we'll have to organize at some point. Kathleen has volunteered herself and Madeline to put them all in scrapbooks. I don't think she has ANY clue the task at hand!

There are cassette tapes of us singing together as kids...classic hilarity. We were good singers, but the conversation in between songs is the best part....a fantastic glimpse at the girls we once were. Thanks, Mom, for saving all that stuff, even though it's been cluttering up attics and basements and barns for the last 30 yrs. I mean, seriously, do I have to save Kathleen's kindergarten artwork too? Sigh. I guess I do! :)

Speaking of my mother, her birthday was three days ago, on the 19th. She would have been 68 this year. That was a difficult day for me. In fact, it's been a difficult week. Yesterday, while peeling apples for an apple pie, the smell and the sight of them brought back memories of peeling apples, and helping Mom make pies when I was a kid. She always made her own crust, and made little tarts filled with raspberry jam with the leftovers. They were like our little reward for helping out. So I peeled apples and cried a bit, but smiled through my tears. These are all good memories, and ones that I'd love to pass down to my daughter--traditions and comforts that will be remembered when she is an adult.

OK, since this is a post about thanks, I guess I'll just dedicate the whole thing to Mom. My last bit of news for today is that we have an offer on her house, just four days after it was listed. We'll be closing in mid-January, and my heart once again fills, because thanks to Mom, I'll be able to buy a house of my own, and put down some of my own roots with Kathleen. She'll have a place to call her own, and she'll be able to come home to it someday from college, and know that it's ours. This too makes me cry, because as a single, self-employed mother, homeownership seemed to be a distant dream. Today, that dream is much closer to reality.

Thanks, Mom. I miss you.

Remember the ones you care about today. Hold them close, tell them you love them, thank them for the place they fill in your heart. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Remembering you and Puddy. Happy Thanksgiving!

Rose said...

What a beautiful post and a wonderful tribute to your late mother. I'm so happy that you have wonderful, loving memories of your childhood and of time spent with your loving mother.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and Kathleen!

Rose - Watching Waves said...

My eyes filled with tears as I read this, remembering my own mom and Thankgivings past. Memories sweet, but salted with our tears of longing for them to sit at the table with us again. Oh, your mom will be so happy to see and Kathleen in your own home! Happy Thanksgiving to you both, Sharon!
The other Rose - lol!

Amber Cargile said...

Sharon, you brought tears to my eyes, too! What a heartfelt, lovely tribute to your mother. Believe me, Tat is going to have so many wonderful memories with you...you've already seen to that...but I'm so glad a home of your own will be part of your future memories. You are always an inspiration!

PAT said...

Sharon, this is such a beautiful post. How pretty your mother was and how wonderful she was a "saver". You all have some special treasures.

Pat

Greg said...

Hugs and Happy Thanksgiving, Shar! So sweet to have those memories as treasures to carry forward with you...bless our Moms, eh?

And good luck to Kathleen with that scrapbooking project...bwa ha ha!! (She just wants to know everything about you, I bet...)

Deb-IL said...

I know those memory tears - I do the same thing in my kitchen using my grandma's bread bowl or my mom's recipes. ((((We miss our moms))))

Enjoy the season and thanks for a post filled with the important things in life.

Deb

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