Yesterday, the 14th, I got a call from my brother saying that our mom died, about 5 pm, CST. I'm not certain right now just how old she was, but I know she was close to 90.
I'm not feeling too bad about it (yet). She had to spend the last years of her life locked down in a nursing home 'cos of dementia. Or Alzheimer's. Pick one. She tended to just wander away...
Her mother was a rather talented pianist, so of course, mom got lots of piano lessons when she was young.
Mom went to Perdue University to pursue a career as a secretary. I dunno what Perdue is like these days, but back then, it was one of the top secretarial schools in the country. All of those piano lessons made banging on a typewriter a breeze for her. (Remember, this was well before electric typewriters came along.)
In her senior year, she realized that in order to graduate, she needed another year of a foreign language. She really didn't want another year of Spanish, so she took everything else and then WW2 started and she went to work for the Federal Gov't and started her career as a secretary. A damned good one, too.
My dad got off the farm in southern Illinois and joined the Army/Air Force and they met at a mixer at the YMCA in Chicago. They married after the War and the rest is history.
Being an only child, she didn't know much about how to rear children, so she studied up on it. Thank the gods, Dr Spock was in vogue by then. Child rearing techniques before Spock would be considered child neglect these days. Even child abuse.
She didn't know how to cook, either, so she studied up on that, too. She found Adelle Davis and we ate very well, indeed. Plus, her mom was a good cook, and they corresponded, weekly.
All in all, she took her roles as wife, mother, secretary, etc., seriously and she did the best she could do. I've no complaints. No complaints about her or my dad.
Compared to a lot of others I've met, personally and online, my childhood was rather uneventful, even boring, and I'm glad for that.
Thanks, mom and dad! I miss you!
I'm not feeling too bad about it (yet). She had to spend the last years of her life locked down in a nursing home 'cos of dementia. Or Alzheimer's. Pick one. She tended to just wander away...
Her mother was a rather talented pianist, so of course, mom got lots of piano lessons when she was young.
Mom went to Perdue University to pursue a career as a secretary. I dunno what Perdue is like these days, but back then, it was one of the top secretarial schools in the country. All of those piano lessons made banging on a typewriter a breeze for her. (Remember, this was well before electric typewriters came along.)
In her senior year, she realized that in order to graduate, she needed another year of a foreign language. She really didn't want another year of Spanish, so she took everything else and then WW2 started and she went to work for the Federal Gov't and started her career as a secretary. A damned good one, too.
My dad got off the farm in southern Illinois and joined the Army/Air Force and they met at a mixer at the YMCA in Chicago. They married after the War and the rest is history.
Being an only child, she didn't know much about how to rear children, so she studied up on it. Thank the gods, Dr Spock was in vogue by then. Child rearing techniques before Spock would be considered child neglect these days. Even child abuse.
She didn't know how to cook, either, so she studied up on that, too. She found Adelle Davis and we ate very well, indeed. Plus, her mom was a good cook, and they corresponded, weekly.
All in all, she took her roles as wife, mother, secretary, etc., seriously and she did the best she could do. I've no complaints. No complaints about her or my dad.
Compared to a lot of others I've met, personally and online, my childhood was rather uneventful, even boring, and I'm glad for that.
Thanks, mom and dad! I miss you!
waldo_jeffers:
My condolences for your loss. From your description, it sounds like she worked hard and made the most of the chances she had in life and that she was a good mum to you and your brother. I hope she is in a better place now.