My Mother Marie Elizabeth Trautvetter Barton died on November 17, 1977. She was 57 years old, four years younger than I am now. At the time, she was mother to four grown children and a loving wife to my Dad. Although only her first granddaughter was born before she died, her legacy now includes four additional granddaughters, two grandsons, and two great-grandchildren. At different times, I see traits of my Mother throughout three generations. A few I've been paying more attention to lately:
* Her singing voice passed through me and my brother, then onto my daughter and my brother's oldest son
* Her generosity passed in full to my older sister; her laughter and open spirit passed onto to my older sister's younger daughter
* Her loyalty and ability to build strong & lasting friendships passed onto my younger sister, my younger sister's oldest daughter, and my brother
I've been without my Mother a long time. During the years I participated in all night walks to benefit the American Cancer Society, I used the solitary hours on the track to pay tribute to her; I remembered and honored her traits. Several years have passed since the last walk I did. So today, on Mother's Day, I was driving alone for many hours; I used the time to return to my Mother's legacy.
Her fantastic memory was passed to the four of us and our children (and their children).
ReplyDeleteI sadly didn't know your mother, but she obviously passed on to you and your siblings a strong sense of the importance of family, a steel core of decency, and a clear appreciation for what is really of value in life.
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