Building our Heritage

Mom as a young girl skiing.

Twenty-five years ago in December, my mother died from complications of cancer treatment. I have thought of her often over those years and over the last few months I felt a need to introduce her to a generation of grandchildren and great grandchildren who never knew her very well or not at all. Donna, our oldest, was just 15 when Mom died. Krissie, our youngest. was just a few days past her first birthday. Since we lived in the midwest and Mom and Dad lived in California we only got to see them every couple of years. They would usually get to see us on an annual basis, thankfully. Our older children have dim memories of Mom and our younger children have none at all.

From the 1980 Family Reunion

So I've contacted family members and asked them to put on their thinking caps and provide stories and photos of Mom. I'm focusing less on a biography than on capturing the essence of who she was and why she was so important to all of us. My youngest sister Marti was only 24 when Mom died and she said she was so jealous of the rest of us because we had Mom for so much longer. As I've watched my daughters bond with their Mother I really do understand that. My Mom had a significant impact on all of our lives and contributed to our heritage. I want my children and their children, and on, to know about that heritage. Waiting 25 years may have seemed too long, but everyone I've talked to is excited about it and the time is right.

Some of the collected stories and photos will appear in this blog. My goal is to have the book ready to publish by Mom's birthday in late March. That is pretty ambitious, but I think we can be close.

The Sleepy Daughter

One of the things that was a surprise to us was how much our 2nd daughter liked to sleep. Now, given the fact that as a baby she slept like everyone else that age, it was not big deal. But, as she got older and we said it was nap time she was the ONLY child we had who NEVER argued with us about taking a nap. Since she was number 2 of 7 we had hope with each new child. That hope was dashed 5 times.

Jeni liked to take naps so much she used to ask, "Can I take a nap?" In fact, she enjoyed them so much we were afraid that when she went to school she wouldn't make it through the day without a nap. She can correct me when she reads this, but I think most of the time she made it through the day. But, going to bed at night was always fun. "Can I go to bed now." At least until she became a teenager, then life changed a little.

As a mother of 4 she has fallen back on her old habits. She can sleep anywhere anytime. I'm still amazed by her ability to fall asleep. I wish I had it sometimes. I guess some things never change. In a way, that is comforting.