Traces of Mom

(This is a reprint of a post I did in 2013 written on Memorial day of that year.)

I know it is no longer Mother's Day.  Although my plan for this post pre-dated Mother's Day this year, timing never worked for me to actually sit down and write it.  It takes a quiet time with a few less demands pulling on me from my house, my life, and even my computer.  Memorial Day this year turned out to be the moment (for at least right now).  Now this is actually just a post for me and my mom.  You are welcome to read it but it is long and specific for her.

After spending some time at the cemetery yesterday with Gary and his family, I am also in that mood of gratitude for those who had gone before--certainty my mom and others that I know but also for all those who have served and died for our country to provide and protect those precious freedoms we enjoy.  Our neighborhood is filled today with flags flying in tribute to those men and women.

Back to my mom (or Grandma Giberson to my children):

Eileen Jane Own Giberson
My mom at our first house in Richland
@1962



My mom and dad
This was taken in Amarillo Texas
@1972

My mom and dad sporting our Giberson reunion t-shirts from 1994
That was the last reunion my mother attended.

I had to put this picture in for my kids.
My mom liked "pigs" and it started as a cute
little quirky thing, but it exploded into a huge
collection.  Not only did we as children find
pigs for her but friends and ward members
did as well.  She also had several "pig" books.
She loved to read and she loved to read
to her grandchildren and my kids loved it too.

Like all moms, my mom worked hard for our family, She cooked (which she didn't like), she cleaned (which was a huge undertaking with 8 kids), she sewed most of our clothes when I was young, and she managed the organization of 8 kids, one husband, and demanding Church assignments for both of them.  She was extraordinary as a woman. She made life happy for us, she loved flowers, she loved books and music, she kept a journal. She was a friend to all and I never remember her saying bad things about anyone.  She was always willing to extend the benefit of the doubt.  Most of all she loved God and understood her place with him.  I remember six months after she had a life saving heart transplant hearing her stand and bear her testimony and saying, "I have been so blessed in my life.  I have not had many of the difficult trials which others deal with."  I actually didn't think anything about it until the next sister stood up and said something to the affect that if Eileen didn't think 10 years of congestive heart failure and being away from her family for four months for a heart transplant was a trial, we all better stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get busy. That was my mom.  Her impact on all who knew her was upbeat, positive, and loving.  I saw a quote which fit her recently. It goes something like this:  Don't live your life so that everyone knows you're here. Live it so that they will miss you when you are gone.  That fits her well.  She is missed, in some ways more now than right after she died.  It has been over 18 years (now 25 years).

But this post isn't really about my mom (although it is good to put some pictures of her in here for future generations), but it is about the "traces of her" which I have found physically within my own house.  I have noticed over the years how many of the things I choose for my house are related in some way to my mother.  They remind me of her, they remind me of home, and they remind me of mothering and love.  Some are possessions of hers, some are things I did on purpose because of her and others were just accidents.................but whatever the reasons I found her touch throughout my house where she has never been and it is a reflection of the major influence she had as my mom in making me who I am today (even though in many ways I am included in the group of siblings who "take after my dad the most).

Traces----

Logo from our last reunion--designed by my nephew Niles Giberson
Mom came up with the name "Giberiginal" with some help from siblings and
she used it as a trademark on the back of her homemade birthday cards and
other cards she made---long before card making became a "thing".
It was fun to use it again for our logos for the reunion.

This is our last Giberson family photo which was taken
in Austin, Texas, in 2003 (I think).
The little pig represents Mom.
Family photographs and family reunions were two
very important things to my mom and my dad.

These are some mystery books of my Mom's.
She and I both loved mystery books
as young girls and I love having these treasured books of hers.

My mom's streamer chest which she took
her stuff to BYU. (I didn't take my stuff
to BYU in it.)

My mom loved flowers and she was known
for stopping the car while on vacations to
go look at flowers.  I loved that now and have
done the same to my children.
Not sure if I loved it as a child.
We had irises in our Richland house
and here are ours in Syracuse.

In Richland, we had tiger lilies out our
kitchen door.  Here are some I planted in
Syracuse as a reminder of that.

My mom did love pigs and upon
her death we each took a couple of pigs.
These are from her collection.  She painted the
white piggy bank.

I am not a personal fan of pigs.  I am more of an elephant person.
However I saw this once at RC Willeys and felt drawn to it.
After going back and forth, I finally got it.
Odd tribute to my mom, but it still makes me smile each time I
see it.  (And now everyone will know why that pig is
in my dining room floor.  I actually have a few other
pigs scatter around my house as well.)
My mom would laugh!

When Gary and I moved into our first house, my mom
sent us a package with something for each of the main
rooms of our new house.  This was a needle point she made
for our yellow bathroom.
This has hung in every house since then.
It currently is in our laundry room.

In that same package came four wooden letters spelling
"Hall" for the hall, of course.  She thought she was so
clever.  We used those for years as well but
they have been recycled many years ago.
However I did my own version for this house----

The Piano--
My mom played the piano and organ.  Many of the classic music pieces I recognize because my mother would play them at night as we were falling asleep. I loved having a mom who could play, but steadfastly refused to learn how to play myself as a child. (And as an adult with some piano lesson experience, it was probably a wise choice as I do not have the "piano/music" gene possessed by my mother and many of the "Owen" family tree.)  Gary "fell in love" with my family as my mom played the piano and we all sang after a Thanksgiving dinner. That event led him to consider that he would have to marry me to be a part of that so the rest is history. All of that is a side note to the piano.
After we got married, I immediately noticed a piano missing from our home.  It was just a part of my life that I couldn't imagine building a home without one.  It was an exciting day when we bought our first piano which we had in West Jordan and sold when we moved to Hong Kong and since then we have had electronic pianos. Luckily God blessed us with Tosha who was a music soul like my mom so we have had piano music.  Except for Scott, all of my kids have enjoyed the piano from time to time.  As for me, I try to play on Sunday each week.
Thank, Mom, for music.

My mom had this quote on her wall, long before quotes
were fashionable.  It is a take off of a scripture.  It says
"Sufficient each day is the mess therein."
For me, it serves to remind myself that I might want
to take care of today's messes today
 (rather than piling the laundry to be folded....later!)
This hangs in my kitchen which incidentally is painted yellow.
My mom always wanted a yellow kitchen.  Me, too.
Yellow is a bright and wonderful color.

I had bought a Thanksgiving rabbit and my mom, after seeing that,
made me that rabbit for my birthday complete with hearts--it works for both
valentines and my birthday, although now it sits in Scarlett's room because she loved it, too.

My mom taught me to love to swing.
And so we must have swings.
Jena loves to swing as well.

This is my grandmother's treadle sewing machine.
I can remember my mom sewing clothes on
this machine for us.  Crazy!  That was seriously
hard work to sew and work the pedal.  My mom said years later that sewing
was a great pleasure and stress reliever for her.  I can't imagine it
as the thought of sewing can make me break out into
a cold sweat.  My cousins just recently brought this
to me from Oregon.  My parents had returned it to
Grandma when they finally got an electric sewing machine.  However,
Grandma wanted my mom to have it when she died but they never got it to Texas.
After my mom died my aunt was determined that I have it.
So they brought it when they came to attend a wedding of a nephew.
I was so excited and grateful for their sacrifice to bring it.
And it still works so if I need to sew after an earthquake,
I am prepared!?????

My quilt--
My Mom made this for me for Christmas of
my freshman year at BYU.  This was a ton of work.
It included scraps of material from dresses and clothes
she had made me throughout my life.
Circles--can you imagine sewing that?
It was on my bed throughout college and until I got married.
And then on extra beds for years.
Then one day I noticed it was getting worn so I took it "out of commission"
and it sit on a shelf in our bedroom.  As I type this I realize that I am
wrapped up with the quilt my mom made for Gary and I when we got
married.  It is a blue tied quilt that continues to
keep us warm years after it no longer was our bedspread.
If we can find it as Ben and Tosha have used it over the years.
Quilting is one part of sewing that I am trying to add to
my life.  I apparently love material and a beautiful quilt
is such an amazing treasure.

My mom and dad loved maps and taught us
to use them.  My brother took it a step further and
majored in geography in college.  I was actually one class
short of a minor in geography myself.  This hangs in
our living room but I (and my brother Todd) both have
map collections as well.

I love my mom and just like my home, my heart and mind are filled with her memory.  I so wish that my children could have known her and loved her personally, too.  She loved them so much and prayed for them.  She died before Jena was born, but I feel a calm peace that she knew and loved Jena before we did. 

Happy Mother's Day, mom.  And thanks for everything!