Remembering Mom

This was a gift from my Mom to Steve. “Old teachers never die. They just lose their class.” The handmade gift hung in his office until he retired from USU in 2012. It represents her thoughtfulness and her gift giving talent. No one loved to give gifts more than Mom. Christmas was her favorite holiday. She never tired of it. She bought gifts months ahead and continued the shopping until the night before. In her old age when lung disease and lack of stamina made navigating the aisles challenging, she acquired unique gifts from QVC and catalogs which came to the home by the armful. Growing up in Birdseye Utah, she was accustomed to getting treasures via mail order and she used that eye for quality (and ever willing credit card) to select gifts from her recliner. She charged so much, she had her Visa number memorized.

When the neighborhood kids came to play, she would send them home with an unusual container, a new pencil, or a plate of cookies. It was hard for anyone to leave her home without having something placed in their arms. In the summer, it was garden produce. After Sunday dinner, it was a plate of leftovers. At Christmas it was her homemade chocolates. If she found a unique kitchen gadget, she would buy it for you. Often, she’d call to have us drop by after work to pick up a pie (or caramel corn or cinnamon rolls) she had made for us.

After she and Dad became empty nesters, their basement apartment became a gift to grandkids or married children while students at USU - a scholarship in kind. For years running, that apartment was home to some lucky relative who enjoyed her ready laugh, her enthusiasm for life, and her love of cooking for others.

Her generosity extended to faceless others as attested by the stack of donation requests she still gets in the mail, though she has been dead four years. Her selfless legacy continues as a gift to all of us.