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I always considered my mother to be a demanding woman. She was someone that
everyone marveled at. She was a firstborn child in a family of 9 children.
Because of that, every Christmas she held a grand party, where everyone would
gather for a massive celebration. People would come from far and wide to
celebrate. We also held a celebration at Easter, but Christmas was something
that was truly memorable. Families that had moved out of state would come and
gather for a reunion that involved lots of food, lots of fun, and caroling. My
mother would cook massive amounts of food for two days. Helping her prepare this
was an experience that has taught me a lot about patience, preparation, and good
living.
It was a little bit chaotic actually, trying to help prepare for these
amazing events. Christmas was probably my most favorite event, because we would
spend all of this time trimming the tree, cleaning the house, wrapping presents
and helping mom to get all of this food put together. I always felt the event
was a little bit stressful, and sometimes felt I disappointed my mother a little
bit by not helping quite enough, or not knowing quite what to do. My mom never
let me drown in these thoughts however, always encouraging me, and even telling
me that the food I burnt tasted quite good. In fact, one time she even ate an
entire burnt pie all by herself, complements of me, the chef.
But by the time everyone got there, there were hoards of children, and
grandchildren, and cousins I didn’t even know that I had. There were beverages,
and goofiness and silliness. People laughed, and cried and open gifts. There
were stories of what had been going on during the year. Lots of pictures were
taken, and I would often see mom in her regalia. She was a beautiful woman. She
would dress up extra nice for the Christmas party in particular. I remember she
always smelled so good. She loved her perfume. There was this one perfume in
particular, that she would buy bottles of. Every Christmas, there was always at
least one package containing extra bottles of perfume for her to wear.
She always had these beautiful earrings she would wear, sometimes Christmas
bells or ornaments that tinkled in the light of the Christmas tree.
We would gather around singing Christmas carols. These memories stuck with me
for years, particularly in the years that mom got sick. This last year mom
didn’t really have enough strength to get everyone together for the Christmas
party, so all of us pitched in together to throw one last Christmas party before
mom passed away. It was our last big party before mom died. Just before the
part, mom pulled me into the bedroom, and we were talking. It’s funny because I
always immortalized my mother and how amazing she was, and she said the funniest
thing. “Sweetie, I always thought of you as the ideal woman. You are so
beautiful, and so amazing. If I could be just like you, I would.” The moment she
said that, I burst into tears. Because, that’s just the way my mother was.
Everyone thinks my mother is the ideal woman. And, for her to say something like
that, epitomizes who my mother is. I was feeling really blue in that moment, and
my mother picked up on it. The reason everyone always wanted to gather at moms
place, is because mom had a beautiful heart.
Her heart shone through and captured the spirit of Christmas, which was about
gift giving. And, in that moment, my mom gave me the best Christmas gift of all.
Thanks mom. I love you, and I will miss you, and I hope to carry on the
wonderful tradition that you blessed so many people with each and every year.
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