Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Harriet was many kind and wonderful things to many people. I remember her most for the role that I am certain she valued above any other; That of a Loving Mother (and later Grandmother) My earliest memories of Harriet were as a timid child huddled in the cold around other neighborhood kids each morning waiting for the school bus to arrive. Harriet regularly stood with us, in her typical Motherly fashion, seeing to it we would each find our way to class safely and soundly while under her watchful, caring eye. Jeff and I would grow to be the closest of friends. His jovial and genuine personality reached out to my usual backward and quiet demeanor. Her son's gentle nature made Harriet proud every day. Jeff and I shared many things, including boyishly complaining of how our nervous, persistent mothers never left us alone long enough to get into any fun (or trouble!). They were always so grumpy whenever we got home late or forgot to call! Years later, Jeff and I grew to men, and our boyhood chats grew with us. Jeff had since married amazing Melissa, and together they had little, bright, and beautiful Serenity. Jeff cherished her just as Harriet cherished him, and Harriet too now found that Grandmotherhood would make her heart shimmer just as Motherhood had. Harriet always believed her family was the greatest blessing she could ever receive. Those chats I mentioned, the ones between Jeff and I... There is one I will never forget. One specifically about parenting, Serenity, and our respective nervous, loving Mothers. Having no child of my own, and Jeff being the first of our circle of friends to enter Fatherhood, I asked him how it felt and if he was as persistent as my and his mother had been with us. He explained to me that Serenity meant more than the world to him but the challenge everyday was desperately wanting to be a perfect parent in an imperfect world, and simultaneously knowing that we are bound to being only human, not supermen. He didn't stop there. He believed our Mothers were both Superhuman in their own right. They stood tall against all the tragedies of life. Those crises that impact our hearts, our health, our pockets, and even our confidence. They stood above those all of those challenges and rose to every occasion as a Mother first, the world be damned. "Our Mothers weren't perfect, no one is..." Jeff said, "but they loved us, and they made sure we knew it, and in the end that's all we need." You're right Jeff. Harriet taught you well. We are blessed. Our parents were more than perfect, they were Mothers. Love you Harriet. You've done good. See you again someday.
