Memories and waiting….
I have, thankfully, alot of very vivid memories of my parents. I have the amazing memory of my parents at Christmases with our whole family gathered around them. I have the wonderful memory of them sitting on our front porch talking late at night- I have the memory of the sound of their voices coming from their bedroom door when some member at church was struggling and I could hear my mom tell my dad it was going to be ok- that he had done all he could do. I have several memories of the two of them trying to video ANYTHING- or trying to use the cell phone. :) I have memories of dad calling one of the boys and my mom in the background telling him to ask them about this or that—and always him doing as she requested just to spend time on the phone with them. I have a few memories of them being affectionate in front of us- but tons of memories of them showing love like no other in so many ways. I have the memory of my mom having a heart attack my first semester of nursing school- and my dad asking me to go back in the recovery room with him- We walked through the doors and I never ever have seen such love in a mans eyes as when he saw her— he wanted to know what every machine was- what every number meant-It was the first time I had ever seen my dad afraid of anything- afraid of loosing her. I have the memory of my momma’s face as he left to go to Belize (when her health had gotten so poor she couldn’t go anymore) she would miss him so much, I have the memory of my dad’s face as we said good-bye to my mom just 5 years ago- it crushed him. He hurt so much that he literally tripled an already tough work load- he wanted to stay busy so he never had to sit and think about how much he missed her. He was so lonely and finally he knew he could not handle being alone anymore (his heart hurt to much)….so he remarried- even then every time I talked to him he told me he missed my mom everyday. He cared deeply for his new wife but never did he stop missing his Mif. (the only pet name I ever heard him call her- her initials). My parents started dating when they were old enough to date- they spent 49 years of marriage together and before that several years of dating…they had a love that exceeded all loves and we were all blessed to have them as parents….One thing that has really been on my mind- was the fact that my dad worked so much-all of his life and my mom would just wait on him. If she needed something done at home- she would have to wait on him (she knew he would be helping some member or possible convert with something), if she made dinner- she knew he would be late (he had to finish one more hospital visit) If she wanted to go out of town to see one of us kids- she knew she would have to wait (there was a man at the gas station that he needed to talk to the church about), if she wanted something fixed at home- she knew she would have to wait- he had someone in mind to do it but he was also studying with them so they would come right after the study- she knew she would be waiting on him after church…so that he could greet every member- she knew that she would have to wait to set the table- he would always bring folks home and she never knew how many. My mom spent much of her life- waiting on him….and the last almost 5 years she has been waiting on him too. Now they are together- finally- now they can spend their time together- waiting on each of us. I wish I could have seen her when she finally realized he was home and she didn’t have to wait anymore.
