34 years

[caption id="attachment_1036" align="aligncenter" width="401"] Mom at 39-40 circa 1971, Ottawa, Canada[/caption] Authored May 24, 2012 by: Diane Larose Klimek 34 years ago, today, my Mom died, leaving 6 children... I was the oldest of those 6... My Dad died in 1969, leaving 6 children... I was the oldest of those 6... She was 39 years old and we were rough on each other, at times... Neither of us saw things eye to eye back, then... It was later that we began to know each other better; that we become gentler with each other... We were friends when she died and I wasn't there when she died but I was nearby... She knew I loved her at that time but, the one thing I never got to tell her was what a Champion she was to go on living, and raising all of us... It's with the wisdom I've garnered since she's been gone, that I've realized, that she did a yeomans' job with what she had been given... We didn't always thank her for being all that she tried to be but, I thank her, now... A part of her left, when my Dad died but, she gave us all she had left... I don't know how she gave as much as she did... I raised my 2 kids (we have names, too!) on my own, but their dad was there, to help... Mine couldn't be and I wish I'd been able to say thanks to her for that... For the trying, day to day... She got to know my daughters and was so proud of them and me, I hope...She didn't get to know their children, however... That was a loss for them that I try to fill with stories about how she was... Because, what I took from her was the stubborn determination to try for my daughters... I haven't always seen eye to eye with them nor they with me, either... [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUdiQWxps5E] The lyrics to this song explain perfectly all our imperfect thoughts that each generation still can't express... Pride gets in the way, we get too busy to say, what we really meant... Anger burns in hearts... I have finally heard what she had to say, by just showing up and doing things with us... And, working with that knowledge, I'm also trying to hear my daughters, without offence.... I'm proud of them because they have my Mom's determination, to strive with what they have, day to day... It hasn't been an easy life for any of the 6 left, now... Nor, for my 2 daughters, nor my granddaughter... But, they conduct themselves with courage and the determination to find the good in each day... I tell my granddaughter about her, the good and the bad... And, how her Nana would be proud of her as well, for her courage to be a happy person, despite changes made that can't be unchanged, for any of us... We all still have our factions and fractions but, time will gentle some of that, as well... We're all branches from her and my Dads tree... Her legacy was a good one, I think... Don't give up... Ever... Thanks to her, we all made it to this point and maybe, borrowing some of her courage, we can talk; so that the lyrics to this amazing song, become lyrics that remind us, that's it's always worth the chance; to talk now; little by little to start again, re-forging those bonds, before they become chains around us, we can't break... A Legacy from Mom I'd be proud to share with all of us that are left... She died leaving 6 children... I'm the oldest of those 6 still, and I'd like to think, know she'd be proud of all of us, still... Branches of her tree... You are missed, Mom... In High Regard... and Love... And sometimes, with Tears, for what has been missing, for all these years, since you went... I've never written anything about her in all these years but, time was willing to wait... We've been adding our own branches, using your blueprint... Were okay, Mom, in most of the ways that count... Your daughters and sons, Diane 2012

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