Friday, May 9, 2008

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday. Since some folks may be reading this at work, I thought I would share some things about my Mother. Her name was Mary Frances Merrill Durst, and she lived from 1915 to 2004. She was 38, when she had me. My brother was almost 8 years older, so we were raised sort of separately. Mother was very in to the arts. She loved to read, and was in a book club for a long time, until her eyesight began to fail. She got macular degeneration, which most of her siblings did, too. In 1964, she heard something about a band from England that was good. They were on the Ed Sullivan Show, and she suggested I watch it. That night, The Beatles zapped me through the TV. She also had a love for movies, and she shared that love with me. She especially liked James Bond movies. So, she was responsible for introducing me to my two big loves--The Beatles and James Bond. Daddy was gone a lot with his job, so Mother raised me. When we moved to Columbia, Mother had to learn how to drive. I went along with her, when she took driving lessons. That was quite an experience, but she did very well. She was a disciplinarian, but she also loved me very much. When she had her stroke in 1991 that left her paralyzed on one side and unable to speak at first, she would always smile. The people at the rehab center said how uplifting she was, and she always had a sweet spirit. When she began to speak again, it was mostly a whisper. I had to be an interpreter for Daddy, as he had a hard time hearing her. When you would ask her how she was doing, her usual response was "Oh fine", and then she would smile. Even though she was not doing well, she would smile. Toward the end of her life, she was having a hard time speaking again. I would sit with her, and she would smile, and we would hold hands. She would squeeze my hand so hard that it would hurt, but I could feel her love. When she died, I put a Paul McCartney button in her casket as a thank you for introducing me to the music. A Beatles song came over the muzak at that time. It was quite moving. Mother came from a family in Alabama that taught them not to cry. Crying was a sign of weakness. I only saw my Mother cry twice in her life. Once was when Daddy died, and once when one of her brothers died. I am afraid I didn't inherit that quality of not crying. As I write this, there are tears in my eyes. I miss my Mother, and I know one day we will be reunited in Heaven. So, on this Mother's Day, if your Mother is still living, say something nice. If she has passed away, think good thoughts. I thank God for my Mother. I hope you can do the same for yours. Have a good day.

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