Some might call this the season for reflection and remembering - TopicsExpress

Some might call this the season for reflection and remembering bits of the past. My mom, who is now 93, basically sits at home, enjoying a very simple, peaceful time, reading, watching a little TV and enjoying frequent visits from 5 kids. She just has no desire to leave her house. Wasn’t always so. Newly widowed, in 1960 she moved herself and us five kids from N.Y. State to the state of Washington. To accomplish this she had to obtain a driver’s license. She failed the driving test four times, on the fifth try the state tester suggested maybe she could invite a good friend to sit in the back seat to help calm her. So, with our neighbor Ruth Coe in the backseat, mom got her license. We set out in a ‘57 Plymouth; with suitcases loaded on the roof rack, our family dog Friskie, and five kids aged 13 and under, we headed west. We got lost – frequently. Chicago was especially hard to put in the rear view mirror. Driving coast to coast without the current interstate freeway system was a major task. Add five kids that despised their mom for making them leave everything they have ever known, and this accomplishment, ranks with landing a man on the moon. Somewhere in the Midwest, with all of us kids arguing, and an atmosphere of pure mayhem, we all realized the road had ended and mom had planted us in a farmer’s field. We got out, the dog ran away, and my sister Karen said goodbye and started to walk back to N.Y. Of course, we all eventually found our way to Anderson Island, we’ve all grown to love this island and even more, our mother. She taught us about determination and fortitude, overcoming fears, and a fair amount about finding your own way in life. Even if sometimes you end up lost at the end of a road… Love you mom, thanks for the lessons