She lived her life in a way
that touched others.
One person at a time.
One gesture of kindness after another.
Generosity was her nature.
Faith was her compass.
And boy did she love to have fun.
To be together. To laugh.
To be surrounded by friends
and family.
She and dad enjoyed so many things together -
spending time at the farm, sailing,
traveling, family trips, hikes at the cabin.
They sang together.
They danced together.
They ran a business together.
They took care of each other.
Even when it was so very difficult.
She was grateful for her blessings,
so appreciative and so ready to share.
She was a planner. She loved atlases.
She thrived on gathering her family together.
When they weren't together,
she tracked them on her phone.
She and dad were amazing parents
and loved being grandparents.
As she got older, she tried to turn some of the planning
over to her adult children.
With limited success.
She loved the Cyclones. Loudly.
She knew to never call her mother
during televised football games
and she taught us to carry on that tradition,
extending it to other sports as well.
"Can't talk, game's in overtime!"
She worked hard her whole life
and it took her a long time after retirement
to learn how to nap.
But then she mastered it.
She had earned it.
A voracious reader
with a broad array of genres and topics.
She loved to share favorite books and authors with others.
She was so fun to go to the library with.
Being hard of hearing, whispering wasn't in her toolkit.
But she never got kicked out.
She treasured her friendships
and was the kind of friend who paid attention
to the details of your life.
And remembered.
Church was so important to her.
She was faithful in her attendance
and volunteered in so many ways over the years.
She was quiet about her faith,
but it was easy to see God in action
through her priorities and her values.
She had a busy life,
yet always figured out how to fit in volunteering.
Never seeking attention,
just doing what she could to help people.
She was a bit of a worrier,
with her best worrying done at 5am.
Little known fact:
She played the bagpipes in college.
She never professed to play them well,
but she has photos of herself holding one.
She was so many things to
so many people.
I had the honor of calling her mom.
And now I have been blessed
with the responsibility
of carrying on her legacy.
One person at a time.
One gesture of kindness after another.
I miss you mom.
Always will.
