Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about REBECCA This weekend (tomorrow, actually) would have been my mother's 50th birthday. She passed away from cancer in 1990 at the age of 32. I was only 10 years old when I lost my mother and I have a hard time believing that she SHOULD be 50! So, today's thirteen is going to be "Thirteen Memories I Actually HAVE of My Mother". 1. When my little sister was born in 1983, I was 4 years old and they wouldn't let me in to see my mother in her room because I was under 12. Well, I remember that this irked my mother to no end, because she loved me (naturally) and wanted to saee me. So, she walked all the way up a LONG hall, shortly after giving birth, to see me. 2. When we would go out to eat, my sister and I would often fight over who got to sit by Mommy. I imagine we hurt our father's feelings, but I'm glad now that we did that, because we wound up with an extra 6 years to fight over him after she was gone. 3. In the summer of 1989, my mother had a hysterectomy and was laid up in bed. She was an avid cross stitcher and used this opportunity to teach her older daughter (that'd be me) how to stitch. I still have the "Happy Birthday" panda bear she helped me stitch for my dad. 4. She dressed up as the Easter Bunny, Raggedy Ann, a witch among other things for my birthday parties and school parties when I was younger. 5. All of my birthday cakes were homemade and hand decorated. 6. When I was sick with the flu (or anything else), my mother would sit with me and read me as many books as I wanted to listen to and would do crossword puzzles with me. 7. Once, when I was 8 years old, I was doing my homework and smarted off to my mother about something and she slapped me across my face, which was totally out of character and later we found out that it was the cancer in her brain that made her act so odd. 8. My mother had a beautiful singing voice and shortly before her death sang "Amazing Grace" at our church, a cappella. We later sang that hymn at her memorial service. 9. My parents got into a fight one time and my mother threw pots and pans at my father's head (again, out of character and a result of the cancer) and then when he left, she had my sister and me pack up all of his things and put them outside our apartment. They DID make up when he got home and remained married until her death, after which my father was still completely in love and committed until his own death. 10. My parents and I took my sister to a birthday party when she was in kindergarten. The party was for a little girl who had recently lost her father to cancer and my mother told my dad that if anything ever happened to her, she wanted him to look up that girl's mother. He did, and they dated for over a year. She wound up being "super bitch", so that relationship, thankfully, didn't work out. 11. My mother had a degree in elementary education and taught for about 6 weeks when I was in the 5th grade. She taught 1st grade and hated it. She came home and cried every night until, finally, my dad told her to just quit. I never knew exactly WHY she hated it so much, but she did. 12. My mother did a lot of sewing and made me and my sister a lot of matching outfits. At the time, I found them annoying, but looking back, if I had two daughters, I would SO do the same thing!! 13. The last time I saw my mother alive was December 31, 1989. She was VERY sick and my dad was dropping my sister and me off at our grandparents' and taking her to the hospital. When they backed out of the driveway, I just waved to her. Only a wave. No hug. No kiss. No "I love you". I just waved. I had no idea it would be the last time I'd see her. It's a mistake I've had to live with ever since and one I repeated on November 3, 1995, which is the last time I saw my father. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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