Meme

The kids called her “Meme” -- I came to call her “Mom” – and soon she found her own special place in my heart.
Today would have been her 83rd birthday. She is my mother-in-love. The last 15 years Meme was confined to her bed, so I'd sit in the small chair at the end of it –knitting or doing handwork of some sort – we’d talk about raising kids and husbands and recipes and girl things. She was always so eager to know what was happening in my life. Going to Burkburnett, where they lived for so many years, was always a boost for my mental outlook. . .we'd have these long chats, the kids would play, I’d cook up something I knew they liked, and we’d all enjoy a brief, but enriching family time.

I remember so many things about her:
>Her hands – she always had the most beautifully manicured hands. I remember her as classy – I tell our own daughter she favors her grandmother in that way.



>Her tender heart – children, animals and people in need of a hand-up.

>She always gave me the benefit of the doubt. . . not sure I always deserved it.

>She made the best pies . . . her French Coconut and Buttermilk were the best!

>She wasn’t real big on birthdays – but one time when we were coming through – she got up into her wheelchair – rolled into the kitchen and made me an Italian Cream Cake. It’s been my favorite ever since.

>Holidays she and Pop would cook together. She would rest and save her strength and then roll up to a special counter he’d built to accommodate her chair and they’d cook together. They always made this cornbread stuffing and got the turkey on. (not always agreeing on what should be included in the recipe.) When she died I asked for the apron she always wore. . . I didn’t want to wash it because it still smelled like her kitchen.

>One time when we breezed through there for an overnight on our way to Illinois to spend a few days with my family, she gave the kids a treasure box full of little gifts for the long ride. She knew how long 16 hours in a car could be for children, so she wrapped up a present for every hour or two. It would be something like a pack of gum or a .50 toy or small pack of crayons. They were overjoyed and I remember that trip went much more smoothly. Even though she wasn't going to have as much time with our kids, she selflessly gave so much to make them happy.

>She loved to sing hymns! When she could get us all to sing together it made her the happiest. She would have “singings” after church in their home. She’d make something simple – like baked cinnamon toast. On the day she died we all sang the songs we thought she loved the most and she seemed to linger a little longer.

>She traveled the world with her military man and Terry always said she made moving seem like an adventure.


>She collected people. Her home was always open to them. She had this sense about what they needed. When President Kennedy was shot, she was concerned for the wife of his assassin, Marina Oswald she and wrote to her expressing condolensces for her in her loss as well.


>Mom coped with a disabling disease – she contracted polio in her mid-teens. At which time she was told she would never walk again. Within a year she was walking. . .. and later would ride bikes with her kids . As she grew older the challenges to her health multiplied, once again affecting her ability to walk as post-polio syndrome set in. She hated those crutches and on our wedding day didn’t want to be photographed with them. Having to resort to a wheel chair a few years later and then be confined to her room was even harder for this very active woman.



Pop was devoted to her – and together they endured the challenges that her disease caused in her life.
She taught me so much . . .
She’s standing now . . . in HIS presence . . .
“Her children rise up and call her blessed”. Prov. 31 We all have been blessed by her!