Yes, this is her day. We had a very nice time together this evening, eating cake, talking, visiting with various ones ( Paul, Melissa, Andrea, Gretchen, Aunt Sharon, Kimberly...), and reading funny old cards from Andrew. Afterwards we went to the evening meeting, and listened to Paul Brown's excellent message...which turned out to be only half an hour...because he wanted to devote the rest of the time to giving honor to Mama on her birthday. It was a very sweet and funny time of trying to give her gifts that would meet each of the love languages ( the quality time one turned out to be Uncle Tim drinking a glass of water with her...since she doesn't really do the "go out for coffee" thing...maybe you had to be there...you can get the tape...). Most of the time was spent in giving words of affirmation and people stood up to testify about ways she had blessed them. There weren't any pauses! and in spite of the fact that I didn't say anything- I STILL cried. Tearlessness is an impossible goal.
There was one story I wanted to share but wasn't sure if I could do it justice b/c I couldn't remember the whole thing very well...but I talked to some people afterwards and they reminded me of a couple more details...This exemplifies Mama's thorough nature and the way she truly cares for others more than herself, letting no obstacle deter her.
Last fall, Andrew was starting classes at UNH and one day he took a sandwich with him that contained some sort of meat product. Mama is a great stickler for COLD PACKS and apparently, she realized during the day that Andrew's sandwich was not protected by the necessary temperature to keep the meat UNQUESTIONABLY SAFE. Seeing the need, she did ALL, and i mean ALLLLL, in her power to rectify this dire situation. She took it upon herself, the all caring and all loving mother that she is, to call UNH, and tried in vain to contact him. Somehow, the University did not seem to think that this matter fell into its purview. A mother's cries fell upon calloused ears. Well, maybe not calloused - but powerless. Suddenly, she remembered that Andrew was heading to Sears ( in the Mall of NH) that day to look at shoes. A new lead! So she called the store, talked to the shoe department lady, described Andrew...and at this point, my memory fails me. I should have asked for more details tonight after meeting...But she either told the woman to tell Andrew to call her or to just tell him OUTRIGHT, " DON'T EAT YOUR SANDWICH! IT COULD CONTAIN DANGEROUS BACTERIA!" Either way, it's a hilarious MAMA story which epitomizes her quest for complete sandwich safety...and, more to the point, illustrates her mother-love which is always thinking of others and will do anything to help the beloved.
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2 comments:
Yes, Claire, Mama in fact told the salesladies to tell Andrew not to eat his sandwich! Andrew told me about how he had walked into the shoe department and the ladies started laughing when they saw him. They proceeded to tell him--"Your mother called and said not to eat your sandwich!" and he said, "Yep, that's my mother."
Thanks for filling in those great details, Liane...
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