Life Notes: Thanks for Everything, Mom!
by Missy Goodwin

As I watched my youngest daughter cheerleading the other afternoon, I wished for the thousandth time that my mother could be here to see both of her granddaughters and be involved in their busy teenage lives. It has been 5 years since her death, and I miss her terribly. They say, “Time heals all wounds” – I am sure that is true – but time does nothing to fill the void in your heart that is left when you lose someone you love. Of course, some voids are not only impossible to fill, but they are NOT MEANT to be filled. There are those people who pass in and out of our lives who can never be replaced, and a mom is one of them. Especially mine.

In addition to being one of the kindest persons I have ever known, my mom also had a keen sense of humor and loved to laugh. HOWEVER, if you danced on her last nerve, it was certainly nothing to laugh at! Your first clue was the one raised eyebrow. (Ohhh, the hours I spent in front of the mirror trying to emulate that eyebrow thing!) Once that happened, your fate was sealed. You could beg, cry, or bargain, and she would calmly listen to your every syllable. But once your case had been thoroughly pleaded, you were assured of receiving the same sentence you would have gotten had you saved your energy for all the extra chores you were about to do. Yet even through all the lectures, the spankings (yep, my mom was a BIG believer in that one!), and the groundings, I knew that I could not have been loved more.

I heard someone say once that the most important thing you can give your child is a childhood. And I had an exceptional one, which had nothing to do with how much “stuff” we had – that part I don’t even remember. What I DO remember is being a happy, carefree child in a secure home filled with lots of love. My hope is that one day my two girls will look back and say the same thing.

I also hope that as my mom watches over me, BOTH her eyebrows are happy!
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The Life Notes articles are written by staff of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home and are published in The Ruston Daily Leader.