Eulogy for Mother

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Eulogy for Mother My mother was a complex, multi-faceted person. Many of you here today knew my mother personally, and many of you knew my mother indirectly through one of her family members. You may have known her as a coworker, a friend, or a support person. Of course, all of my mother’s family here today each knew a part of her, a “facet” of her--as a mother, a sister, an aunt, a grandmother, a cousin. I, of course, knew my mother as a mother. As I have reached adulthood and become a mother myself, I have also known her as a friend. My mom shared much of herself with me, and I saw sides of my mother as she struggled with her cancer that I had never seen before, especially her strong belief in positive thinking and the importance of quality of life. I was privileged to know so many facets of my mother, but certainly I did not know all. There were parts of her life that I didn’t see, relationships that I didn’t know about. Last night, at the wake, so many stories were told to me about my mom’s strength, courage, humor, kindness, her quietness, her loyalty as a friend. It was so special to hear of these things that my mom said and did, to know some of these other parts of her life. I hope that her friends and family will continue to share these stories with me and with each other so we can continue to know and remember my mom. So, therefore, I would like to share a little about my mother as I knew her--as her oldest child, her first daughter, her “firstborn” (as she called me), as her “Suzy”. As a young child, I knew my mother as strict and consistent. The house was orderly. Rules were clear and expected to be followed. Of course, I was compelled to always test this side of my mother--I can’t tell you how many hours I spent sitting on a chair in the corner of the kitchen, staring at our yellow tile!! Even then, my mother did not believe in spankings and corporal punishment as such, but she did use the occasional “wap” on the arm or behind when she felt it was necessary. If you watch the old family movies, you will see me in many scenes pouting and rubbing my arm (Testing those limits again!!).

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