My words for my mother's funeral:
Last time we were at one of these events Mom and I got into trouble for laughing. We were remembering the silly things Dad did. But that was Mom, she could find the humor in the worst situations. It was a form of sanity. One I've learned to use since.
Was she a saint? No. We are glad she wasn't. If she had been, she would've been bland and boring, and that's everyone else's mom.
There is a quote from Act III, Scene II of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream that describes her perfectly: "And though she be but little, she is fierce." That stubborn temper could get her in trouble one minute and out of it the next. But I know I'm in trouble now for that "little part." She always said she was 5'2" and a half inches tall. Never forget that half. She didn't.
Speaking of trouble. She could be devastatingly funny. It seemed the more trouble I was in, the funnier she got. And then I got in trouble for appreciating the funny by laughing. One of her witicisms that should be immortalized was "If you had a brain you'd take it out and play with it." Now you see why keeping a straight face was so difficult while she was trying to impart wisdom and discipline.
She was the involved mom. She would hold an animal at a fair, cut up oranges for the soccer team or use her nice station wagon as a livestock hauler...or a kid hauler. It wasn't unusual for her to load up an entire 4-H club and go to some event. These were the days before every kid had to have his or her own seat belt and you could just stack 'em in the back.
She snuck education in on our summer vacations. We learned about the western half of the US from the back of the station wagon. We saw the historic and the beautiful while traveling to and from Kansas to visit family. These trips taught us to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.
She would show you how to shoot a gun or sew a seam, and gender didn't enter into her mind. If you think you're capable, do it. She was far ahead of her time in that way. She was a one woman women's movement, but couldn't stand the Feminist Movement of the 70s. She inspired me to do as I please because she did.
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