My Mom's now at home from the hospital under hospice care, and the time that once was measured in years and months is now measured in days and hours. Funny how that makes thoughts pop into your head that somehow you never had before. Mom was born in 1927, a few weeks after Lindy showed the world how Lucky he really was by landing safely in Paris. Babe Ruth was in the process of hitting his 60 home runs that year. As for the rest of what happened in 1927, you can go look that up online.
Mom grew up in a farm house that borders the cemetary where she will be buried. A typical family farm of that generation that is no more. Oh, the house is still there (barely), and the barn is still sturdy and standing, and the concrete silo erected just before my uncle left farming could be there for another 500 years, who knows? She grew up in the 1930's, and graduated from high school in 1945. She married my Dad in 1948. 59 years, but not 60. In 1998 they sailed to England on the QE II for their 50th anniversary. Flew back on the Concorde. If you asked me to name three people who have flown faster than the speed of sound, they would be 1. Chuck Yeager, 2. Mom, and 3. Dad.
Dad graduated from high school in 1943, was wounded in the Pacific in 1944, and was discharged from the Army in 1945. At the last minute we finally began honoring men like my Dad, the men of the Greatest Generation, but still even now we never think to honor the gals like my Mom who waited patiently for their guys to come home. Typical high school sweethearts. Waiting at home. Somehows it never occurs to us to honor that waiting. And the homecoming. And the getting things back to normal after the war. Like I said, I never thought about this before either.
And for some, the waiting never ended. My Mom's brother married a woman whose first husband was killed in Normandy, a couple of days after D-Day. He's still over there, under one of those thousands of crosses dotting the French countryside. His struggle ended in 1944, when my aunt's struggle began. The widows, they muddled through, and built a new life as best they could. But we never thought to honor that struggle.
Maybe on Veterans' Day we should stop for an extra moment and remember the Women of the Greatest Generation as well. Wherever they are, I'm sure their fellows won't mind.
UPDATE: My Mom passed away at home in the early morning hours of Sunday, December 2, 2007.
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Tom,Bob Blake here. My mother was a Naval Nurse during WWII (A LT.)
Loved your Bio.,of your parents, yes God Bless the WWII ladies.
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mothers never die,if you love them they are always there in your mind,just look you will see them.
Posted by: wassaw | 12/07/2007 at 08:24 AM
I'm so sorry, Tom, for you and your family and all who loved your mom. I wish there was something that I could say to help take away the hurt, but please know that there are many of us who truly care about you.
Posted by: Woody | 12/04/2007 at 07:42 PM
Tom,
Your words ring true in every regard. I am sorry for your lose, but thankful that such a woman touched this earth and brought you to us.
Posted by: Bill | 12/04/2007 at 03:31 PM
It's been a couple of years since my dad's been gone. Actually close to that same generation although on the other side of the pond.
Very sorry for your loss.
Posted by: CT | 12/04/2007 at 10:28 AM
My sincere condolences. May she rest in peace.
Praying for your family.
God bless!
Posted by: WI Catholic | 12/04/2007 at 04:47 AM
Tom,
My wife and I pass along our prayers & condolences to you and your family on your loss.
Posted by: | 12/03/2007 at 03:16 PM
With your family's love for her, your mother's memory will always be kept alive. May God bless you with a joyful Christmas remembering her life.
Posted by: Nicole | 12/03/2007 at 01:00 PM
Tom & family,
My condolences on your loss
Posted by: hanan | 12/03/2007 at 12:24 PM
I lost my Mom a bit over 3 years ago Tom.
It's a hard thing to go through.
My sincere condolences.
Posted by: Fred | 12/03/2007 at 11:54 AM
Tom, weare so sorry to read of your loss. You and your family are in our prayers.
Jack and Charmaine
Posted by: Jack and Charmaine | 12/03/2007 at 07:54 AM
Really nice. I never thought of this either. My Dad fought in Germany in WWII, and did not live to see the WWII monument. Mom did. And now, she longs to be with him again.
Thank you for reminding me to remember this side of that time.
God bless!
Posted by: WI Catholic | 11/29/2007 at 02:29 AM