She hated this hat, we tried them on at the Zoo last year and begged her to let us take a picture. You see that crooked smile, I think she wanted to hit me right about then, but she let me take it anyway.
I thought she would be around forever, it’s been a year and I still pick up my cell reminding myself to make sure I call her and then I remember, oh yeah, she’s gone. She was the strongest person I have ever known, how can she be gone?? She beat up a mugger back in the 70’s, she was 5’7 and maybe 130lbs, she made that guy regret trying to make her a victim. Man I wonder what was going through his mind when she had him in a head lock!
She put up with abuse, worked a fulltime job and raised 3 kids. She busted her butt at whatever job she had and always succeeded in it. At 68 she was hit with Pancreatic cancer and by 69 on November 29th 2009 at 5:30pm she passed away after battling it with every fiber in her being. She proved the doctors wrong when they said she couldn’t do things, you never told her she was unable to do something. You’d think the doctors would have learned in the time they treated her, she proved them wrong on several occasions.
Her feet and lower calf's were purple from the swelling and effects of the cancer. The doctors told her and us there was simply no way she was going to walk and that’s the only way they were releasing her for Thanksgiving last year, she stood up and walked around the nurses station which made everybody tear up and she said well? Can I go now? You could see her fighting the pain. No way in hell I could have done that, heck when my back hurts there are days I wonder how I’m going to make it downstairs and I remember what she went through, I call myself a pussy (sorry ladies, it’s what I was thinking) and get my rear up and deal with it.
She deserved the best, not just because she was my Mom but because she was a good soul through and through. People say it’s easier to write things down, put it out there, let me tell you it doesn’t work.
It’s been a year and it feels like it happened last night. Thankfully work was busy this morning, now that I got through the bulk of issues I was working on, my brain is busy thinking about her last few years, instead of retirement she had to continue working because our screwed up Government screwed up her paperwork.
Want to know how to live a good life, keep Government out of your life, oh wait, too late. Anyway, we are all meeting tonight at one of my Mom’s favorite restaurants where we will surely cry and laugh and remember Mom and we’ll toast her and remember the good times.
We miss you Mom
Anita Andersen - Rest In Peace Dec 7th, 1940 – Nov 29th, 2009
6 comments:
What do you mean they screwed up her paperwork? Let us know so some of us up and coming dont get the same treatment!...I'm so sorry your Mom has passed, I dread the day, my Mom is 86 and still going as good as she can...Im thankful for every day with her!!
This is a great tribute to your Mom!
what a lovely tribute to your Mom....enjoy the memories..Cheers to her..she sounds like she was a spunky lady!!!
Dixxe,
We immigrated from Norway so our circumstances will be different than natural born Americans.
She was a permanent resident (Green card) and worked here in the US since before 1964. All of her paperwork was complete and she qualified for Medicare and was on it no problem, when she put in for her Social Security benefits they told her they had no paperwork proving she was even allowed in this country.
She of course showed them her paperwork that Social Security and Immigration provided and also showed them her Medicare paperwork and in true Governmental idiocy it took them 3 years to get to it let alone try to fix it.
6 months before she died they finally with no apologies approved her benefits, but she had to jump through a few more hoops designed to try and get you to back off benefits she should have received when she put in for them.
It's been a year and her estate is still not completed because of the Government feeding frenzy that happens when somebody dies.
I could write a book on how hard it is to fight the Government, credit card companies etc...
I'm glad you have your Mom Dixxe, treasure every minute. All I can say is make sure everything is in order before hand, it hurts to go through the process but it does help later.
Thanks for the kind words Dixxe, Sue and Doug.
Oh, Erik! I am so so sad to read this. Your mom was an amazing woman. I have thought of her over the last few years and wondered where she was/what she was doing. If anyone deserved heaven it was her.
ps)Will you please tell Bente I am trying to find her?
pps)RVing? So fun...and still with Ronda? :) Glad to read you are so happy!
Erik, there isn't a day that goes by without me thinking about her and missing her.
Steinar
:)
Post a Comment