...found...

This past week I have been cleaning out various areas in my house. I'm finding that I want less 'stuff'. This has lead to multiple trips to goodwill and a whole lot of recycling. I decided to go through my closet and get rid of anything I really just did not need or haven't worn in a while. This is the result....

That is 4 (four) big garbage bags of clothes and shoes that I dropped off at goodwill. It felt so good to get all of that out of my closet. When my husband came home from work he went into the closet and came right back out. He said, "Dear, it appears that we have been robbed and they took half of your clothes." It's great to be able to see what I have to wear and be able to find stuff again!~

While cleaning out my closet I ran across the suit I work to the funeral for my Mom. I bought the suit for the service, wore it there and haven't worn it sense. I stopped briefly to contemplate whether I should keep it or not. I realized that it has been 6 years since that service and if I hadn't worn it once since then I probably was not going to wear it in the future. I started to fold it up to put it into the goodwill bag when I thought I'd better check the pockets. In the jacket pocket I found a folded piece of paper. This is what was written on it...

Good morning. As I was thinking about my mom in preparation for this day, many things came to mind. A wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, a teacher, singer, bargain shopper or Blazer fan.

Always putting others first, she made sure everyone else had the help and care they needed before thinking of herself. I remember many times during her illness when she would say to my Dad and I, “You guys need to eat something. “Or “I’ll bet you guys are worn out! Sit down and relax”. That was always her way, others first.

She was always on time, if not early, for everything she did. If you said be ready at 5:00, she was sharp at 4:30. Marilyn, a dear friend of Mom’s, said to me the other day, “I know why your mother passed away at this time of year. She was needed to sing in the heavenly choir on Easter Sunday.” And I know why she passed on the Tuesday before Easter. Because, as I said, she was never late for anything in her life!

My mom always needed to make sure everything was in order, especially when it came to her appearance. When we would leave for the hospital for a radiation treatment, the last thing we had to do was make sure she had her lipstick on. Another dear friend of Mom’s told me “oh, that’s just the Sweet Adeline in her”.

Whether you know her as Pat, Patricia, Patty, PJ, Patsy, Trish, Graymo or Mom, one thing stands out. As another close friend of Mom’s said to me while visiting her in the hospital, “She was the glue that held us together.”

Thank you.

It was the speech I gave at my Mom's service. As you can imagine, it was a bit of a surprise to find this. I remember writing this. I remember reading it to my Dad to get his thoughts on it. We were sitting at the kitchen table in my parents home. I had sat at that table many times, eating family meals, doing homework and visiting with my Mom and Dad.

As I was reading what I had written, my Dad got up and went to the kitchen counter. I noticed that he was wiping his eyes. He was crying. This is something in my lifetime that I have rarely seen my Dad do. I stopped reading, but he prompted me to continue. When I was finished I asked my Dad if it was okay. He said it was perfect and not to change a word. I asked him why the tears. He said, "Honey, you looked and sounded so much like your Mother. They are good tears".