Happy Mother's Day! A List About Mom

I've wanted to write about my mother for so long and I still don't have the ability to express what I want to write.  It's so frustrating.  But being Mother's Day I thought I'd share some of the things that I know and remember about my mother.  Don't expect much, this is basically a list about mom. 

• Born January 27, 1921, Mom was the 2nd and last surviving child born to her parents.
  
  
• My mother was a very bright woman. She graduated high school early and went on to college to earn her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.
  
   
• She went into veterinary medicine to help her parents raise foxes. The enterprise didn't work out so she joined the army during WWII, expecting adventure and companionship.
  
  
• She was stationed with a Calvary unit until her Superior's wife complained of having a female in her husband's unit.  She was then sent to do FDA inspection at an egg plant, living in a boarding house, no companionship and no adventure.
  
  
• She met my father and married him in 1948. In seven years they had three children.  In 12 years he died leaving her a widow with an almost-four year old, a six year old and a ten  year old.
  
  
• She moved her family across country from Maryland to Washington to be closer to her parents. She gave up small animal practice for the security and benefits of a government job doing meat inspection.
  
  
• She taught herself and her children to camp.  The first outing was with no tent.  My brothers slept under the picnic table to keep out of the rain and my mother and I slept in the back of our station wagon.
  
  
• She taught me to love hiking in the mountains, how to backpack and fish.
  
  
• She took us charter boat fishing for salmon off the coast of Washington.  We had our salmon canned to bring back home with us.
  
  
• She took us to Disneyland, driving from Lynden, Washington (close to the Canadian border) to southern California.  We didn't stay in hotels until we got to Disneyland, instead we camped along the way, making and breaking camp each day.
  
  
• I didn't give my mother an easy time as a young adult, but she patiently continued to love me.
  
  
• My mother always saw me as someone better than I truly am.
  
  
• When she retired she volunteered for numerous organizations at home.
  
  
• She traveled the US to different Elderhostels, continuing to learn about the many subjects that interested her.
  
  
• She traveled around the world, including Great Britain, the Scandinavian countries, Mediterranean countries, China and parts of Africa.
  
  
• She never remarried.  

It took me far too many years to really appreciate who my mother was.  I was lucky enough to be able to have her come live with us the last few years of her life and I got to appreciate her more in those years than I ever did before.  Sometimes I'm sad because it was too little, too late.  But then I remember it might never have happened at all, and I am thankful for it.  

I love you, Mom, and I miss you so very much!!