On this Mothers Day, 2024, I hope you will indulge me, all you faithful followers of this page, in a moment of personal privilege as I celebrate the life of my favorite mother in my life, Patsy. That's her infant daughter Melanie pictured with her at the left. What follows is a sweet tribute from that little girl, now a mother of five of her own. I felt like it captured Patsy's essence perfectly.
God and Family Matter Most
Mom's life was not complicated. That sounds crazy, since she raised 13 unique humans in a complicated and busy world, but her formula was simple -- love God and care for your family, everything else is details.
Serve Others
She valued the two great commandments and lived them out in all that she did. Taking meals to those in need, helping with a funeral or wedding, dropping off cookies for birthdays, sending treats in the mail for holidays. She understood that the small things were big things.
Be Consistent
I am floored by the consistency with which my Mom served us, perpetuated traditions, and showed love. She never missed special occasions and her traditions were as sure as a ticking clock. For decades we marched to the drumbeat of butterscotch pull-aparts on Christmas morning, Valentines doorbell ditched in Feb., shamrock-shaped green sandwiches for St. Patrick's Day, a turkey dinner during General Conference, Jesus wall for Easter, baskets of caramel corn during summer game nights, handmade Halloween costumes, Runts in mini cornucopias for Thanksgiving. She never skipped weekly Sunday dinners on fine china or hot breakfasts each morning followed by family prayer. The woman was a master of consistency.
Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
She didn't have a sophisticated system for organizing, but Mom was never without a list she was working on, scrawled shakily onto a scrap of paper and sitting on the kitchen counter awaiting checkmarks. She often gave up sleep or comfort to do it, but long before 2-day Amazon deliveries and without the convenience of popping into the neighborhood grocery store, this woman planned ahead to make sure she could accomplish all she wanted to and get everyone where they needed to be. She had foresight, vision, and the grit to get things done.
Be Grateful
Whether it was her lengthy prayers filled with expressions of gratitude, or a note to someone who had done something seemingly insignificant, she expressed gratitude sincerely and often. No good deed went un-thanked.
Love and Forgive
Whether it was her kids' routine lack of consideration or a deep hurt like divorce or family feud, Mom didn't get caught up in the details, she simply sought to love and forgive. She healed hearts and soothed fractured relationships through relentless prayer and tireless love.
Listen for God's Voice
Mom was humble and even a bit too self-deprecating at times. She knew that without God she was nothing, so she lived her life to be the receptacle of the Spirit and divine guidance. She sought to tune in through prayer and scripture study, words of prophets, and temple worship. She asked, listened, then acted.
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