Happy Mother's Day

Recently my mother said, "I wish I had some thing to leave you." It was hard to hear. Every time I visit my mother now it feels like a little bit of a good bye. For those of you that lost a parent early (I lost my father at 24) and are lucky enough to have an elderly parent, like I have, you know that each day is precious. Enjoy your parents and honor them.

In this picture my mother is probably in her early to mid forties. This picture was taken at her cousin Maria Texeira's house in Capitola, California.

My mother leaves me so many sweet memories and the character she modeled.

My mother was strict and we were scared of her but she never told us to "shut up" like the lady I saw in Costco yesterday. I hope you all will agree that telling children to shut up is unacceptable. We don't even allow the phrase in our home. If you feel the urge say something like please be quiet or I need you to be quiet now. My mother respected us.

My mother kept us clean. That means our clothes no matter how modest, our bodies, our nails cut, our hair was brushed and clean. It is shameful how some children appear in public today. She taught us to say please and thank you. Politeness is some thing lacking in our society.

My mother taught us domestic arts including how to clean everything. We had the whitest laundry on the block. The love of flowers and gardens. I can make a little friend "amiga" out of any plant. My friends tease me about my passion for cuttings.

My mother loves animals and allowed us to bring pets home. We grew up with cats, guinea pigs, chickens, rabbits, and fish. We made mud pies, climbed trees, rode our bikes to exhaustion and visited the beach.

My mother could do anything and everything grew in my mother's garden. Vegetables, herbs, and flowers. My mother never sat but everyone was welcome at our house. Even though we didn't have much my mother was generous, always cooking and cleaning.

My mother liked to go. She was always game for a trip.

We all went to church every Sunday. She encouraged us in our faith, taught us how to pray, and to this day she blesses me. In every circumstance she believed that God is good. She tells me not to cry. That what is for us in life is for us and that we must confront and not weaken in our faith.

Call your mother's and thank them for all they have done for you.