Tuesday, July 17

Memories of my Mother.

Today would have been my mother's 87th Birthday.
She was born on July 17th 1920. She died on August 17th 1997. Here she is just a little girl. She was the only daughter, & had 3 brothers. Two elder brothers, & one younger. She loved them all dearly.
Here she is happy with her Brother-in-Law to be, at one of their country Dances, when she was young.

Here she is with my Beloved Brother & I. I still have the gold buttons off the dress she wore for that photo.


Here she is with me, on my wedding day.

Here she is with my Beloved Brother & his Wife on their wedding day. I am on the left. Thank goodness hats had gone out of vogue by then!
Here she is Proud Grandmother with my Brother's 2 eldest boys.

And here, she is with my Brother's youngest son.
Because we lived in the South Island, I dont have many photos of our children with Mum.

In this one, she is Proud Mother, Grandmother & Great Grandmother.
I still miss her, even though it is almost 10 years since she went.
In many ways she had a sad life. But she loved her family dearly, & she was a fiercely loyal little person. She had no desire to be called a 'Lady', always said she wasnt one.
I was lucky enough to manage a visit to stay with my mother on average of at least once a year, for most of the years I lived away from her. And she would come to stay with us when she could.
She had a wonderful sense of humour, & could be very sharp of toungue if she disagreed with you. She was an extremely hard worker, & she made a lovely warm, & welcoming home for all her family.
In her last years, she lived next door to my Brother & his family, & I know she got a lot of pleasure out of those boys, & they loved her. My children also loved her dearly, though sadly, they didnt know her quite as well because of the distance, but she came to stay with us often, & would be sure to be on their side most of the time, if there was conflict. She was a great Grandmother. (Though, I always told her she was too thin! Grannies are supposed to be portly -like me!) haha.
For you Little Mary:
Anne Murray, Little Snowbird.
Fleetwood Mac, Albatross.
The Seekers, The Carnival is Over.







25 comments:

~Bren~ said...

What a wonderful tribute to your beautiful mother. The picture of her and her grandchildren are so special, especially the one of the 4 generations.

Tanya Brown said...

Thank you for sharing these photos and your thoughts. Little slices of time. Your mother's pride in her brood comes through in every photo.

LBA said...

I love it when you share your family photos and memories with us, Meggie..

Quilting Kim said...

What a beautiful tribute to your mother. I know she must be smiling down on you because she has a wonderful daughter.

Aunty Evil said...

Your mum looks lovely, and a lot like you!

I have no doubt you will continue to miss her, no matter how many years pass. That is a testament of a good life, that people remember you and love you, even when you are gone.

Anonymous said...

Your mother and I shared a birthday! Happy birthday to your mum.

Anonymous said...

Hi Meggie,
I really enjoyed the photos of your Mum. You are a lot like her. So you will know what you will be like as you get older. I think she was a lovely Grandmother. You can see the pride in her eyes.
Cheers,
Jenny

Harmany Quilting said...

Your Mum sounds gorgeous, such great memories - Your Mum, Tracey Peterson and I share a Birthday. Happy Birthday!

Anonymous said...

Meggie , We were in the same house as that lovely painting from your yesterdays post last night in fact ,with our sister and BIL who are ' Housesitting' for our neice and C. & family . We had a wonderful meal a lot of laughs and had a toast or two to Mary , (Mum, & Menny ) as well.--- Happy Birthday & Thanks for being You Mum .
Buddy Holly on the music list for her too .
xxxxx

Joyce said...

Your Mum must have been an interesting lady. She looks so proud in the last photo with the four generations. How did she manage to keep her figure so well?

Angie said...

Your Mom was a beautiful woman! My Mom died in Dec. of 1997...do we ever get over missing them?

smilnsigh said...

A lovely tribute to your Mother.

And yes, I agree... Grannies and Nanas are supposed to be round and soft. -giggles-

Mari-Nanci

ancient one said...

Wonderful memories of your mom and Happy pictures of her!! Thanks for sharing. My mom is 82 and she has never been round and soft. Neither was the only grandmother I ever knew. People tell me that my mom's mom was "stout". She died when my mom was 8 yrs old.

Thimbleanna said...

What nice pictures -- and memories Meggie. Thanks for sharing. Your mother sounds like a wonderful woman.

fifi said...

Your mother sounds like a great lady.
You look quite like her, except softer in the face, more sensitive.

Her world was such a different one to ours...imagine if she had a blog, I wonder what she would write?


I read a blog by a 108 year old lady called Olive. She can't hear very well, so she calls it a "blob".

fifi said...

ps, Olive's blob I found via Pavlov's Cat if you want to read it.

Unknown said...

I think we will never stop missing our mothers if they are gone and in a way that is good because it shows how great they were.

His Office, My Studio said...

Great memories and photos of your Mom and family!

Granny said...

Sounds like your mother was a wonderful lady. Thanks for sharing some of your memories. She and my dad share the same birthday!

riseoutofme said...

What a lovely and loving testament to a courageous woman.

Beautiful post Meggie.

Alice said...

Such a lovely tribute to your dear mother, Meggie. Your love for her, and her's for her family really show through in your writing. Lovely photos, too.

Alison said...

I love the black and white/sepia coloured pictures. I think they are more romantic.
I like your hat!!

Teodo said...

Fantastic this post and wonderful the pics.
Thanks you have introduced me to your mother.
ciao ciao

Julia said...

Wonderful memories Meggie!
and a lovely tribute to your Mum...My mum has also been gone for 10years, and being an only child, I miss her terribly, not a day goes by that I don't think of her...

C. hailey R said...

Lucky you, have such closed family members.
you have a very kind looking mother.