My Mother's Legacy

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.