MONDAY MUSINGS:MISSING MOM

I needed alliteration to warm up on this November day with hints of crisp winter temps on what would have been my Mother's 93rd birthday. We were different in many ways but also shared a lot- like neither of us cared for cold weather so this 31-degree day today would not have been welcomed. Brrrrrrr...

Even though I could have written down those coffee measurements to be used for that big percolator for entertaining a large group, it was a good excuse to call home and speak to her. She always had a 'cute story' to share. Her stories were infamous as they were usually embellished beyond recognition.

Mom also loved to entertain and cook. Much later in life, I came to appreciate her homecooked meals after learning not every Mom spent time in the kitchen or was good at beating the pans. She loved to bake with butter (real butter).  Even in her senior years, she tried new recipes for the bridge girls... She would always call me up to share a new find.

Probably like most kids I got to know my Mother better when I became a mother.  And I find myself wishing I had asked her more questions about her life. 

She lived through Hitler's occupation of her homeland and survived, coming to the States as an exchange student when she was 19. She met my father while she was working on her Ph.D. at Iowa.

Being German she was always PÜNKTLICH( on time), in fact always a bit early. I was flying in from Wisconsin to celebrate her 85th birthday that weekend but she died two days before I arrived.

I really do miss chatting with my Mom.