“The common fallacy among women is that simply having children makes one a mother…which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician.”
On this Mother’s Day, I would like to pay tribute to another woman who was a significant part of my life. She was a mother to me for another twenty-three years after my own mother passed away. My first, and most prominent memory was when I was about to become a member of the Sharpe family as their daughter-in-love, not just an ordinary daughter-in-law. Mom Sharpe made it very clear when I married her son, that I was every bit a daughter in their eyes, and in their hearts.
Opal was the youngest of eight children and didn’t grow up with many luxuries. Her parents were farmers, as were her grandparents. They nurtured their family on the values of selflessness, generosity over materialism and modesty over conceit, and she raised her children in the same manner. Growing up, her family lived off the fruits of the land, and enjoyed the splendor of life one day at a time.
When I think of my dear friend and “Mom,” floods of memories fill my mind. Endless conversations, filled with laughter and tears, special moments shared over hundreds of pots of our favorite beverage, coffee. I often thought she was trying to fatten me up by the number of times we used to sneak off for ice cream during the hot summer afternoons following our marriage. She mentioned it was a good excuse to leave a hot steamy laundromat while the clothes were in the dryer, and I couldn’t have agreed more.
I am reminded of her generous nature and her giving heart when our family went through some tough times. I loved her sense of humor and admired her for never giving it up at the end. Opal’s laugh was infectious, I never knew another woman who enjoyed a good practical joke as much as she. Just thinking about some of the pranks we pulled on her makes me smile.
Each one of us is put on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate, and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. Perhaps, knowing such wonderful people in our lives is God’s way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day as Opal, my mother-in-love did. Remembering is all that any of us can do, and the way I remember her is the way she will continue to exist in my world.
I welcome the course ahead because I had help getting here from a few amazing women. For if I have learned nothing else, it is that the journey will always be unfinished.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
Opal Sharpe
1924 - 2004
1 comment:
Lovely story about your Mother in law. Sorry I didn't get to meet her and talk to her. thanks, Ila.
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