On the left side of the top of my desk are two pictures of my mom (next to the picture of Bev). The first picture is when she graduated from nursing school (she was 20), the second was taken when Bev and I lived in Anaheim - she was 70 or so.
After Mom became an RN (Registered Nurse), she joined the Army. She spent a lot of time in the South Pacific. Other than “being a nurse”, I’m not sure what she was doing there. I do know that during the Korean War, she was at the 8063rd M.A.S.H. After the war she was at an Army Hospital in Murfreesburough, Tennessee, and that is where she and Dad met.
Being an Army nurse was good training for her (remind me to tell you the story of when my older brother Tom tried to blow himself up). She was the kind of person you wanted to have around in an emergency – and with the seven of us running around there were plenty of emergencies! She was not perfect (none of us are), but she did the best she could with what she was given.
I remember when Bev and I were on staff at Hayward Church, Mom had come to visit us - she (reluctantly) agreed to come to church with us. Reluctantly because our church was not what she was used to (and that is another story). Pastor Harry and I were in his office talking and I mentioned that Mom was here, he insisted that I needed to sing a special song for the occasion. I did, and afterward we did our regular greeting time. As I stepped off the platform to give Mom a hug, she was crying (I didn’t think I sounded that bad!). Turns out the song I sang was “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, which was her favorite hymn. On top of that, apparently, she never heard me sing before. She had heard me in choruses and smaller ensembles, but never solo. I also need to add here that my musical side came from her family (yet another long story).
Little did I know at the time, but that would be the last visit Mom would make. The next time I saw her would be in the ICU at the hospital as she died. Even though we are talking more than ten years since Mom died, as I type this tears are flowing.
I guess my point here is that our moms deserve at least one day a year when we find a way to honor them. And for all you who are moms, hang in there. Your kids may not show you yet how much you are loved and appreciated. It may seem that they never will (and I hope that is not true). But you have to know there is one out there who sees all you do for your children and you will be rewarded. Thank you, moms!
Mrs. Killion’s little boy