I will always remember my Mom having breakfast ready for me when I was going to school and had thrown my clothes in the dryer or used the hair dryer on my socks so they would be toasty warm when I put them on almost every day.

I will always remember the stories Mom would tell me about me when I was very young. Pooping my diaper on Santa's lap, the my shoppy cart, I liked to wear one sock and nothing else running around Memaw's backyard. And one story from when I was potty training. I had an accident and was so depressed. She told me everything would be ok because everyone pooped their pants at one point. That Mom had, even Memaw did, and her delight to see my face light up as I imagined Memaw at her age pooping her pants.

I will always remember the songs that we would sing on car trips, and Mom would always try to make it about poop just to hear me laugh.

Mom getting and doing shrinky dinks with me as a kid. She was always finding cool, inexpensive things to do with me and have fun.

I will never forget my Mom's ingenuity or ability to make it repair things. From sewing rod and tears, refinishing garage sale fine, to designing and building the front and rear decks on her home today... She always had great ideas and the determination and know how to get it done.

I will always remember the amazing food my Mom would always prepare growing up and when we would come to visit. She always knew how to make someone feel right at home, even if they weren't family.

When I was very young I remember being up at Memaw's trailer in Baldwin, MI many times as my Mom does.

The pirate treasure hunt she remembers and protecting Mom, as we dug for treasure, with the cork gun we got at a stop in Holland, MI where they sell the wooden shoes.

Gaining my lifelong distaste for food made from baby animals when we had lamb chops made for dinner one night and I asked what lamb chops were and where they came from. I wasn't going to eat my stuffy named Lambie Pie! Nor have I ever eaten veal since it's baby cows. I only eat ugly animals.

I remember a time when we were living with my grandparents in Chicago Heights, and I was being a stubborn, willful child who wouldn't do what I was told at the time. During an argument with her about something insignificant I'm sure, I told her I didn't want to live there anymore. She packed my little suitcase, put my coat on and shoved me out the door at night. I don't know how long I was out there, but I don't realized I couldn't do it by myself, knocked on the door and asked if I could move back in. Mom always told me that that was one of the hardest things to do as a Mom, and she never took her eyes off me. Tough love is one of the hardest things to do, now that I am a parent, I understand it so much more now.

Driving along the backwoods trails to look for deer. One time a deer ran and jumped right over the hood of the car while we were moving. That was awesome... Scared the crap out of us though. Another time we drove over a large stick that came up and smacked the side of the car. We all thought it was a big snake that jumped up. I've never seen my Mom drive so fast in a sedan on backwoods trail in my life!

Mom taking me to the trout farm and I caught dinner for everyone with corn and a hook. One of the coolest things as a kid.

Being at the festival in downtown Baldwin with Mom where the firefighters would battle over a suspended barrel with fire hoses and the homemade ice cream parlor.

Mom used to work very hard throughout her life to make sure we always had what we needed. One of those jobs was a sales rep for United Consumers Club. After chasing off everyone who would watch me after school while she worked, almost every night she would come home to make and have dinner with me, make sure I had a bath and was asleep in my bed before going back to work. She was such a hard worker.

Mom got me a NES for Christmas one year. I remember the only time I got her to play Super Mario Bros. with me. She gave up when I beat her in level 1-2 using my feet.

I remember getting Subway for lunch one day with Mom. First time I asked for a foot long sandwich and ate the whole thing. She was amazed and asked if I had a hollow leg I put that sandwich in. It made us laugh so much.

My Mom had gotten an 80's in-tub jacuzzi unit one time. It was basically a suction cupped, hollow plastic board with a hose attached to a blower unit sitting outside the tub. I thought it would be fun to use one night, but I used it in a bubble bath. Needless to say after hearing me yell for help, Mom opened the shower curtain to a solid tower of foam, and me laughing.

I remember Mom was the top sales associate for the year when she worked for UCC. The gave her a Cadillac to use as an award. I'll never forget her hair was done up, she had her sunglasses on, singing and dancing in the car to Dwight Yoakam's Guitars and Cadillacs blasting on the tape deck. God she was so happy, proud, and ALIVE that day.

Mom wanted to go window shopping one Saturday. She had some scratch off tickets in her car that she thought were losers, but when I looked at them, one was a 75 dollar winner! Mom said "Let's get some more tickets!" We stopped at the next has station, and won more there. All in all we visited 5 different gas stations and won like 175 dollars between them all. We stopped and got Subway for lunch that day.

I remember eating dinner with Mom on Fridays and watching the newest episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

High school and shortly afterwards was the point where I progressively turned into an asshole, thinking I knew better than she did. But even through the stint with drugs to quitting or losing jobs, she always pushed me to do the right thing. Even when I was feeling overwhelmed and hopeless in Army basic training, she was always there to guide me in the right direction and encourage me to never give up.

Mom always had a special relationship with animals, but especially with dogs. For the short time she spent with her dogs in TX before I was born, Puff our crotchety ole cat, my dog Shane while she visited when I was stationed in TX, to the 15 great years she spent with Mollie, and many others... She loved them all fiercely. She always said she could never walk into a rescue or pound because she'd leave with all of them.

There was never a time where I felt unloved or unimportant to her. Mom was always there to listen, love, and guide me no matter how bad I acted or how old I became.

I admired my Mom for getting the worst prognosis out of the blue for Stage 4 lung cancer. She stayed optimistic and fought every single day for every day she had. And even when chemo had failed and she went on hospice care, she was always trying to make sure I was ok. She stayed strong for me, even though I know she was so scared.

I regret not calling her more or visiting more. I certainly regret not being with her in the end so she wasn't alone. I wanted to be her Bette Middler because she was my Barbara Hershey. More than just best friends, from the minute I was born, till the moment she took her last breath.

I'm glad you are at rest now and do not have to fight anymore. You so deserve to go for that long awaited walk with Mollie. Just know that you meant more to me than you or I ever knew. I'm lost without you Mom. I will have to take up your mantle and be the kind, loving parent you were to me to my kids. I will do it the best I can with all the love and knowledge you have bestowed upon me.

I love you Mom. I hope you will always know that.

I worked with Peggy for many years. She had a smile that always looked like she was up to something, and she usually was. She was funny, caring, and very giving. I treasure the memories I have with her. She LOVED her son and her grandchildren, and spoke of them often. She liked to tell stories from her younger days too.... like how she saw The Doors in concert, and of wild nights with friends. She had a love for live and will be missed by many. 

My thoughts are with her family at this time.