I remember my Mother

I remember my mother
Holding me, wrapping her  loving arms around me
And pulling me close in to her soft warm body
I remember my mother
Protecting me from all harm when I was little
Always watching over me
Always being there to run to
Always being there to come home to
I remember her grilled cheese sandwiches
Fishing with her
Going for walks and holding her hand
Snuggling beside her in bed with her and Dad
I remember mother
Sitting upright in church with a colourful spring hat
Listening to the minister then standing and belting our gospel hymms
I remember mother making meals upon meals upon meals
(especially Red River cereal, and venison hash and moose roasts, pan friedfried pickerel)
For my father brother and me (and the dog we fed meat bits under the table)
I remember mother crocheting, knitting, quilting, mending.
I remember mother gardening, eating fresh home grown vegetables, especially the carrots
And her purple lilacs, and lots of daffodils .
I remember my mother arguing with the teachers and principals
About me and how she didn’t like the when they hurt me
I remember mother wailing out at me when I was bad
I remember hiding under the bed to get away from a spanking
And her laughing and getting me finally after a wild chase
And the spanking not hurting very much at all.
I remember sleeping soundly and dreaming forever play dreams
Knowing my mother and my father were there in their room
And my brother was beside me.
I remember my mother taking me weekly to the library
And reading books with me until I could read on my own
I remember my mother taking me to school my first day.
I remember camping with my mother and father and tenting and boating.
I remember riding on trains with my mother and visiting my family out east.
I remember long car rides with my mother and her making up games and songs
I remember my mother taking me and my brother to and from outdoor hockey games
In the coldest of winter and always having an oreo cookie for us on the way home
I remember my mother’s glorious red hair and her talking on the phone on the wall
I remember her typing up columns for the newspaper in the sunroom with her Christmas cactus
I remember her cheering in the stands and watching and encouraging as I played baseball poorly
I remember my mother helping with my homework and making sure assignments got done
I remember my mother coming to graduations and being very proud
I remember her calling us in from play in summer as the sun went down
I remember watching tv and eating kraft dinner with her and dad and my brother
In the living room with the dog and mom laughing because dad blamed the dog for farting
I remember my mom caring for my grandmother until one day my grandmother died in our home
I remember my mother taking in our cousin after her surgery and nursing her back to health
I remember mother as a peace maker resolving disputes between us boys and us and Dad
I remember mother making turkey thanksgiving dinners with her sister and all of us enjoying celebrations
I remember Christmas and birthdays because my mother remembered them and celebrated them.
I remember my mother laughing and crying and singing
I remember my mother teaching me to pray on my knees beside my bed
I remember  my mother always supportive and always encouraging and always forgiving
I remember my mother dancing with my dad and loving my dad and my brother and me
I remember complaining that Dad wasn’t at a hockey game and mom scolding me and saying
“Your dad is working hard so we can have a roof over our heads and food on your plates so don’t you ever complain about your dad"
I remember my  Mother screaming in the little plane Dad’s friend took us flying in like she did on the  fun rides at the fair
I remember her making rhubarb pies and giving my brother and me one orange each watching tv in winter
I remember mother making the NHL hockey nights special for us watching black and white tv with my brother and I in team shirts
I remember us all watching Lawrence Welk and Ed Sullivan on evening tv and listening to CJOB Beefs and Bouquet  morning radio
I remember my mother loving my brother marrying my sister in law and proudly telling everyone how smart she and Ron were
I loved when she had grandchildren and how she beamed and smiled a continent wide with joy for the babies
I loved that she was always there for me when I was sick, rubbing vapour rub on my chest when I was young
Bringing me soups and stew when I was old.
I remember my Mom always inviting me in and often telling me not to tell my father when I told her  some trouble I was in
I remember my father telling my brother and I not to tell my mother about some adventures we had together
I remember her listening to my woes and then making me tea or a sandwich and saying that it was going to be okay
I remember my mother helping out at the community club, game and fish, church and the local parades.
I remember my mother always helping out always remembering things others forgot and always making sure everything worked out
I remember my mother writing letters to me when we got older talking about the same old things, gardening, the neighbours, church, and stuff
I remember her coming over for dinner when I was married and Dad had helped me pick out a house and she was so happy for me
I remember my mother being so generous and gracious with the women in my life loving each one and showing them kindness and goodness
I remember her remembering my friends names and asking me about Wes and Keith and always loving Kirk and Garth.
I remember my mother getting old and sharing pictures of the cruises Dad took her on and pictures of her with natives in foreign lands laughing
I remember her in hospitals visiting her and her smiling and asking how I was
I remember my mother in her last year in a wheelchair, Dad pushing her in a big circle around the outside of hospital spring and summer, fall and winter
Dad told me she liked to hear the birds and I remembered all the bird feeders she had over the years especially the one outside the kitchen window
I remember her shovelling snow to get out to it so she could keep the bird seed full in the coldest times of the year when the birds needed her seeds most
I remember her and my dad, her in the wheelchair, my Dad standing bent over beside her, tucking in her scarf, her hands bundled in mittens on her laps
The two of them were the greatest love story I have ever known and my mother made my Dad and her sons happier than anyone else could ever know.
And I remember her dying last days and her telling me she was tired and she wanted me to let her go.
I remember my mother loving me. I remember my mother always loving me even when I made her angry or sad.
I remember my mother as love incarnate
I remember my father and brother and I bereft at her passing, my father who never cried, crying like a baby.
I remember my mother.I will always remember my mother.
On the best of days I dream of her and my dad and my brother and my aunt  and the dogs waiting for me
Often I feel her close to me.I remember my mother.
She was always there for me.
And now she is always here for me.