Mom loved life, in fact, she loved it so much, I never knew what was coming out of her beautiful mouth. This story is about a wonderful woman, who now lives in heaven and is celebrating her 89th birthday on this June 8th.

This is not a sad story. On the contrary, It is a story filled with fun memories of a woman who loved her four children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, family, friends, bingo, lottery tickets, music, going to the casino, singing, telling jokes and making everyone laugh.

A walk down memory lane, 1947……….

Mom was one of fifteen children born to Mary and Amzi Transue.  Her father passed while in his fifties. My grandmother, Mary was ten years younger than her husband, so after a few years, she started seeing a gentleman by the name of Charlie. Mom did not particularly care for this man and decided she had to try to do everything in her power to persuade him to meander on his way. Now, she had help in the shenanigans that followed. In fact, her brother, Lloyd and his future bride, Helen plotted with Mom on how to get him out of the picture.

The three musketeers…….

One summer afternoon, Charlie arrived to pick up my grandmother for a date.  He parked his car in front of the house and went inside to see if his date was ready.

 From the side of the house came Mom, Uncle Lloyd, and his future bride, Helen. Uncle Lloyd and Mom looked around to make sure that Charlie was out of sight.

Then, Uncle Lloyd released the break of Charlie’s car while Aunt Helen jumped in and took over the steering wheel.  The other two musketeers pushed Charlie’s car down the street and parked it behind the ice plant.

All three of the musketeers then walked back to the house and acted real sweet to the man they wanted to get rid of.

After a bit, Charlie got up and went outside to wait for my grandmother. He came running into the house, out of breath and excitedly said in a dutchy accent,” Mary, Mary, someone took the car!”

 Mom with her sparkly blue eyes answered in a serious voice and said, “Charley, maybe some kids were fooling around and moved your car.”

 Charley thought about it then went out to look for his car as Mom, Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Helen stood by the window, covered their mouths to muffle the laughter, and waited to see how long it would take for Charlie to find his car.  They had succeeded, their mom was not going out that night with a fellow they didn’t care for.

A long story short………

The escapades did not end there. One day, Mom pushed a potato up Charley’s exhaust pipe!  When that flew out it made such a noise that Charley thought someone was shooting at him.

Now there was a reason, that Mom, Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Helen did not care for Charley. It seems that he was two-timing on my grandmother. Which led to the last, let’s get Charley out of the picture prank.

 It was a Friday night and Mom saw Charlie pull up to the house. My grandmother did not want to go out with him, so Mom hid her in the hall closet.

Charlie came to the door and Mom told him that her mom was not at home. He did not believe her and stepped inside to see for himself. Since he didn’t see her, he left.

Mom walked out with him, then saw one of her friends. She sat outside for quite a time before she remembered her mom was in the closet.  Although my grandmother was upset, she agreed it was worth it to get rid of a man who really didn’t care about her.

Over the years…….

Mom’s humor continued over the years.  When Dad was living, Mom would have her funny ways of making everyone around her laugh; and it did not matter where she was or what she was doing.  She was great and everyone loved her.

A little sadness…….

Mom had her share of illnesses over the years;  a brain tumor, surgeries, and three strokes but still her humor stayed strong. She worked hard to get her life back each time a mountain surged up.

This beautiful woman, who lost so many of her family to mostly cancer, cried, grieved, then used her humor to climb yet another mountain.

In the fall of 2013, our mother, was diagnosed with a fast-growing mass in her stomach. We, her children, were told that she only had a few months if that to live.  As you, dear reader can imagine, we were devastated.

Since I was retired, Mom came to live with me. In the beginning, it was as if she wasn’t sick at all but as the weeks wore on, the changes were evident that her time with us was quickly coming to an end. Our hearts broke for the woman we loved so dearly.

 Nightly talks………..

Although Mom was so sick, her humor was still there.  Every evening, after everyone left for home, Mom and I would talk.  They were great talks. Talks that kept me going and still do.  She reminded me of things that I had forgotten. We talked about our farm, Christmas, and memories we had all made over the years.  They were precious talks, loving talks sprinkled with laughs and joy.

Mom and the Pastor……..

One day, our Pastor visited Mom and once again, her humor came shining through.

In my parlor, I have two loveseats and a nice chair.  Our pastor sat on one of the loveseats and Mom sat on the other.  I sat on the chair where I could see them both.

The following is a conversation Mom had with the Pastor.

Mom:  “You’re really tall! How tall are you?”

The Pastor:  ” I’m six foot five.”

Sitting watching and listening, I held my breath.  Mom’s  blue eyes were twinkling and I could tell she was thinking.

Mom:  ” How tall is your wife?”

The Pastor:  ” She is five foot two.”

Mom:  ” Really!”

I knew it was coming! She was quiet, real quiet. I was holding my breath! It’s coming, I just knew it.  And then Mom said, ” How’s that working for you in the bedroom?”

Without missing a beat, our pastor said,  “Well, Roberta, I haven’t had any complaints yet!”

They both laughed and laughed! So did I.

My heartfelt thoughts…..

Mom died on December 13, 2013, at 4:30 in the morning. She had a beautiful smile and a glow on her face. I knew in my heart that   she had made it to her new home in heaven.

So, Happy Birthday dear Mom! You taught us well. You loved us, took care of us, taught us right from wrong. The lessons that Donna, Emma, Lee, and I learned are priceless. We thank you for filling our hearts with love for each other. A love that will always be there through thick and thin.

As I sing Happy Birthday to you, I can almost hear your laughter.  Always remember Mom that you are my heart.

Until we meet again……

My last thought…….

How can you honor your mother and father today?