Celebrating "Sibling Day" and Mom....

As I have said, April is a tough month for me.  I set out to celebrate this month with memories and sharing rather than trying to ignore this month.  Today I saw on Facebook that it is "Sibling Day".  And for the last several weeks, my Mom has been on mind.  So the above photo certainly fits today.  I think it may be the last photo of all of us together. It was taken at my mom's 90th birthday in 2005.   We actually managed to get EVERYONE to that event.   ALL of my siblings, ALL of the grandchildren, and ALL of the great grandchildren came that day.  My mom was so happy!  There is really nothing that made my mom happier than having us all together.   We had a family party on Saturday and most of us from out of town stayed at the same hotel (Lia affectionately called this hotel "the Castle Pool"!  She loved that hotel since it was a part of seeing Great Grandma Nona).   The party was held in the Community Room of my mom's apartment building. We took these family
pictures at that party.  Some of us were able to stay on Sunday and the celebration continued with a party for all of her friends, held in the dining room of her building.   It was wonderful to see the room fill up with her friends and family.   We had a wonderful time and mom was truly amazed that anyone would care that it was her 90th birthday.  She was surprised when she turned 95.  I remember that she told me she never expected to live that long.  I assured her that Jesus had plans for her and that there was much for her to accomplish.    I reminded her that there were many people in her building who needed  a smile and a kind word each day.  So she set out to make a difference each day right where she lived.   I saw the effect of this during many visits.  Yes, mom was well liked at that senior apartment. 

One of the benefits of being the youngest child, was that I got to hear all the stories about my siblings!   I believe that I heard about when each of them were younger much more than I heard stories about myself!  Mom loved to talk about Karen and Jerry when they babies.  I do think it is very interesting that because of our age difference, Karen and I had very different "birth" stories.  When Karen was born (in 1938), mom stayed in the hospital for 10 days! ON HER BACK in bed!  She was not allowed to walk anywhere until they sent her home.  I remember her saying that she was so weak from not moving around that she was afraid she would drop Karen!   Contrast that birth with my own in 1954.  Mom went to the hospital on Monday morning at around 5:30am, I was born at 7:10am.  On Wednesday morning the doctor suggested that she should go home since my dad had to leave town on business.   So she did! It was a small town and the doctor knew that she had plenty of help at home.   I heard stories about Karen and Jerry during the years my dad was in WWII.  I heard stories of Julie when she was sick.  I heard stories about Greg and the troubles that he got into as a small boy.   So, sorry to my siblings, but I think I know some of your "secrets"!  Mom made sure to share them with me.   I am so thankful that I got to listen to these stories.  Unfortunately, we have lost the art of "storytelling".  You know, that verbal passing on of family stories and history.   In a way, this blog is acting as my "storytelling".  

Jesus, thank you for my mom and the wonderful years that we had together.  Thank you for my siblings.  Holy Spirit, help us all to see the benefit of keeping our family history alive by sharing it!   Holy Spirit keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to see you working in our family times.  Jesus, thank you for giving me more reasons to celebrate and remember my mom.   Thank you for the spiritual heritage in our family.   Amen