A tribute to Mom!

Mom’s Tribute,

It has been a while since I have posted to the blog and after reading this you will understand.

One of highlights of each day for me when I was in Afghanistan was to get an email from my Mom. She didn’t write much but she would always have little pictures with Hugs and Kisses and tell me how much she loved me. Her health was bad and she spent a few weeks in the hospital last fall while I was deployed. I would tell her to hang in there and she would tell me that she was hanging in there to see here son when he got back from Afghanistan.

Sure enough when I arrived in Gulfport as I walked out of the gate there was Mom with a little American Flag on a stick. She saw me and ran over to me. For Mom that was incredible because she could barely walk. But for her son she gladly forgot about the pain.

Mom and Dad were able to spend the next four weeks in Biloxi with us. As it was getting time for her and Dad to head back up to Tennessee it seemed to me like Mom was treating this as her last time in Mississippi. I would see that and tell Mom that she was going to have lots more trips to Biloxi and get to see the beach.

Well I was wrong. Mom passed away on March 27th. Here is a link to here Obituary if it still works.

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/OBITUARIES/804010321/1023/NEWS17

I recently found out that I had an assignment to Scott AFB. Everyone was excited about this. It would put us close to Carrie’s Parent and allow us to be only 4 hours away from Mom and Dad in Tennessee. When the kids went on Spring Break we went up to the St Louis area to do see Carrie’s family and scout around for homes. When we were looking we wanted to find something that would make it easy for Mom and Dad to come stay with us when they wanted and didn’t have a lot of steps so Mom could get around easily. Our plan was to swing through Tennessee on our way home to Biloxi.

Around the middle of the week I got a call from my sister telling me they admitted mom into the hospital and needed to get her ammonia levels down. Mom’s liver was bad and this was becoming a routine visit for her. When I got there on Friday it looked like Mom was going to pull through. I stayed the night Friday night with her and once around 4 AM she opened her eyes when she heard my voice and gave me the smile I was so accustomed to seeing. It only lasted about 5 seconds but it made the nights stay worthwhile.

Later that morning my older sister Amy took over at the hospital. Only a few hours after I had left she called telling me to get to the hospital with Jason ( my youngest brother) as fast as I could because they were going to have to put mom on a ventilator.

We weren’t able to get there before they did and so we never really had a chance to talk with her after that with her being able to talk back.

Over the next five days Mom’s health went from bad to worse.

However I am not writing this to tell you about Mom’s passing but about the 59 years that she inspired me and a host of others.

You see while Mom was in the ICU unit she had over 80 visitors. I am not talking about ones who stopped in for a few minutes but family and friends that stayed there for hours waiting for the next ICU visitation time. To many that doesn’t say much but to me it speaks volumes. Mom loved deeply anyone that would let her love them. She was always there to help out when she saw a need and these were the friends that became family.

Mom was special. Her last 8 years were difficult because of all the physical challenges she had due to her deteriorating health. Although it slowed her down it never stopped her. She would travel to see us in Biloxi and it would take weeks for her to recover. No one ever saw that. Mom always poured out unconditional love for me. I think much of my success is due to Mom being my biggest cheerleader. She believed that I could do anything and that belief allowed me to try great things and succeed.

Many times I remember walking in on Mom and she would be on her knees praying for our family and friends that had needs. She kept this up through the years and when she was unable to get around she still was a prayer warrior for us.

Today is a special day because it is Mom and Dad’s 43rd Anniversary. Dad I know that there is nothing about today that will be easy. I am so glad that you and Mom showed us how to have a marriage that works through the decades.

So to everyone out there that has read my blog while I was gone I wanted to brag on Mom a little. She is in heaven now without any pain. For all those who support the troops mom was the same. She loved a soldier all her life in Dad, she loved another soldier that spent that last part of 2007 in Afghanistan and she has loved so many other soldiers that are willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice. For this reason we had the following poem read at Mom’s Funeral Service.


MOTHERHOOD
The bravest battle that ever was fought!

Shall I tell you where and when?

On the maps of the world you will find it not;

'Twas fought by the mothers of men.

Nay not with the cannon of battle-shot,

With a sword or noble pen;

Nay, not with eloquent words or thought

From mouth of wonderful men!

But deep in a walled-up woman's heart --

Of a woman that would not yield,

But bravely, silently bore her part --

Lo, there is the battlefield!

No marshalling troops, no bivouac song,

No banner to gleam and wave;

But oh! those battles, they last so long --

From baby hood to the grave.

Yet, faithful still as a bridge of stars,

She fights in her walled-up town --

Fights on and on in her endless wars,

Then silent, unseen, goes down.

Oh, ye with banners and battle-shot,

And soldiers to shout and praise!

I tell you the kingliest victories fought

Were fought in those silent ways.

O spotless woman in a world of shame,

With splendid and silent scorn,

Go back to God as white as you came

--The Kingliest warrior born! --

Joaquin Miller (1839-1913)