Memories of My Mom...

I thought I'd do something a little different, and post something  about my mom.
My mom died recently after a hard fought battle with cancer that lasted 16 years. During her more than 61 years on this world she did a lot of great things and I thought I'd touch on a few of them.  My mom was probably the most patriotic person I know, she loved our country and loved serving it too, when she was 31 years old she decided to join the military, the Air National Guard more specifically.  I was 10 at the time she went to air force basic training, and I was very proud of her when she graduated, it made being away from her all that time well worth it. Even though I was in the Air Guard for 11 years I always enjoyed having lunch with her and my dad on "drill weekend", we would often call each other "sergeant mom" or "sergeant son". She retired form the guard a few years ago after serving for 20 years.

My mom also played the violin, something she had done for a good part of her life, growing up she played in both the junior youth symphony and the youth symphony of the local school district. Later in life, before she had been diagnosed with cancer she was an original member of a local community symphony where she played for many years until the cancer prevented her from playing any longer.  I had always wanted to photograph her playing the violin, and I did so in what I recall was one of her last seasons with the the community symphony. 

The summer of 2007 my mom's cancer started to win the battle, a battle that she had faced head on with unwavering determination and a smile of optimism.  During that summer "The Story Corps Project" visited our area, so I took her there to record her story.

 I interviewed my mom for about an hour as I recall, and while most her life was pretty well known to me, I did learn a few new things about my mom too.

These are just a few of the memories I have of my mom, thanks for taking the time to read them and where ever you are mom thanks for being you... I LOVE YOU!