MOM

Today would have been my Mom's 66th birthday. I wanted to share an article I wrote for my newsletter that I plan to put in the week before Mother's Day but thought that Mom's birthday would be a great place to preview it. Thanks for reading!

Mom by Renee Yousey

Mother's Day is this Sunday and as it approaches I have such a sense of gratitude and loss. In December, in the same hospital where I took my first breath, my Mom took her last. I was by her side and it was the hardest good-bye I have ever experienced. I do believe I will be with her again – but until then I will miss our daily phone conversations, vacations, and my children growing up knowing their Mimi. She kept them both their first year of life – and now at the ages of two and three they will have a hard time remembering…I will do all I can to keep her memory alive!

My Mom was an incredible person! She was one of those people who could touch your life just by knowing her. She had the ability to make instant best friends and even many 'sisters.' She was a Mother to those who didn't have that role model. She was known to give the shoes off her feet if someone admired them. She was always ready to set extra plates at the table or open up a room for someone in need. The weekend she went into the hospital we all had a house full of young adults who were traveling, thanks to Mom.

When I started my business, Mom was the first one to want to help. She did odd jobs for me around the office and loved every bit of it. She was always there to talk to when I needed an ear and always had a tissue if I needed a shoulder. I really miss her.
It has been several months of going through her things and figuring out how life will be now that she is gone. I realized that I didn't need much to remind me of her – she had already filled my house and my life with handmade blankets, and anything else I needed. Every room in my house has something she gave me during her lifetime – just because.

I find in talking with her friends that they have the same experience. Mom gave so much of herself while she was alive that we all have houses full of her memory. She also had rooms full of projects in the works for people.

I know not everyone has a Mom like I did. I was so blessed – and still am! Mom was not perfect, but she tried to do her best and did a great job of being close to perfect!

Mom did not make much money in her lifetime – she spent most of her life as a homemaker. She did not have a high level of education – she received her AA when she was in her 40s. She did not hold public office – other than serving on juries and helping with CPS. She did not hold any of the positions of power that so many of us strive for, but she impacted the world more than most people I know – one person at a time.

Thank you Mom for impacting my world and helping me be the person I am today! I hope I can leave behind a legacy my children can be as proud of as you did! I love and miss you!

Dedicated to Karen Newsom 1942 - 2007