Today is a good day to do just that. February was Mom and Dad's month. They celebrated their birthdays, anniversary, and Valentine's Day all in one month. I always thought that was just completely romantic.
On this 27th day of February Dad would have been 94. I knew my Dad well enough to know that he would think that was just poppycock. (I never knew what that meant but it tickled me when Dad said the word) And Mom would have been 88 on the 8th. I think I know what she would have thought. Her twin sister's eyes had the answer for me a few months ago. Dad always said that gettin' old ain't for sissies. They weren't!
This was the last family reunion we were together. This was June, 1997. Mom passed away in 1998. It's hard to believe that 10 years have passed! It seems like 100 years ago and sometimes it seems like yesterday. Now I have a daughter that is almost 17. I want SO badly just to go back and give Mom a big hug and say I'm sorry. Mother-daughter relationships are interesting and humbling. I wasn't always very easy.
Dad has been gone for 6 years. The last 4 years with my Dad were even more precious to me. I learned about strength, courage, spirituality, and love from his example. I saw our family come together in ways I'd never seen. The opportunity that we had to spend time with him individually as well as together was humbling.
After Dad passed away in January of 2002, we continued to honor them by having Jones reunions for the 3 of us. This is something we'd never done before! The next 3 years took us to the ski hills of Utah.....
.... and the Museums of Santa Fe. I am SOOOO glad we did this. Who knew that then there would be two?
It's not the best picture we've had taken... the sun was in our eyes, etc. but it's the one that depicts the weekend best. It was good. Jeff passed away less than a month later. The times we had together were precious.
So in honoring our Father and Mother, I will honor the past AND the present. This is not to be a sad and melancholy blog. It is meant to share the memories and the blessings of the past that we had together. I will love them forever.
And to the future...... in honor of "Jonesness" ....
February reunions were nice but now we grab those moments whenever they present themselves. It's all good. I Love Ya Big Brother :)
3 comments:
Yep, February is the Folk's month. Thought of them often. Knew you would too. It is a honor to share here along with you.............
That was such a nice tribute. Thanks for sharing all of that.
Wow Trudy, that was a wonderful tribute to your whole family. I am so blessed to still be helping my Mom be "cool" on Facebook. And my Dad. I cannot even imagine losing a sibling.
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