Hand-Me-Downs from Mom

What did I get from my mom?

I lost my mom when I was 12. She died of cancer and my sisters and I were left alone when my dad took off to live his own life.

What I know about my mom isn't much but....

I got her ability to keep in touch with everyone in our family. Even when people weren't talking to other family members because of some rift, she kept in touch with everyone. I have kept in touch with a lot of my family that everyone else has written off for one reason or another.

Also, her ability to laugh at herself. Why take everything so seriously.

Her ability to make the best of whatever her current situation was.

I didn't get her eyes which were blue. Mine are hazel but our eyes seem very similar in photos.

One of my favorite hand-me-downs is a ring she got on her 16th birthday. I received it when she passed away and it is my absolute favorite ring.

I have her dresser with most of the do-dads that had been on it when she was alive. I enjoy dusting it because it makes me feel like I am 11 again. I am still dusting some of the things I dusted way back in the 70's.

Also, mom loved to write. She was a big list keeper, wrote poems, stories, letters, and journaled. I love writing.

My sister and I joke that if mom was alive she would totally be a blogger and if we were to IM her we would mostly be ignored because she would be friends with the world. She would have loved the internet.