My Memory with Mom

Mom was a special person. Not only to me but also to her
three sons, including my husband – David, and her seven
grandchildren, including our daughter – Sayaka. She had
an excellent memory and great organizing skills. She
really enjoyed shopping, going out with her friends, but
most of all she enjoyed cleaning and helping at our
tournament. She was the one who kept and counted all the
money. Members of our judo club always welcomed her as
one of the most important persons involved in our
tournament.

I have two stories to share about Mom. The first is
related to her obsession with cleaning. I heard a lot
about this obsession so I tried to clean our house so
that she would not have anything to clean. David said,
"No matter what, she will find a place to clean".
His logic was to make the house dirty then she would be
happy to clean it for us. She came to our house and said,
"the house is clean". Boy, I was so happy! I
don’t feel that her obsession was bad. I learned more
about Mom one Christmas when we visited her. One day
while vacuuming she called me over to her and said,
"Mimi, this vacuum machine works pretty good. Try,
touch here!" She made me touch the end of the hose.
She continued, "strong, huh?" She sounded very
proud. "I will get you the same one for your house."
She not only cared about her house but also about our
house too! I no longer wonder why Mom got a broom
as one of her retirement gifts!!

The second story about Mom is her love for her family.
Family was her greatest interest. She loved all of her
children and grand- children equally. She cared so much
for her family she would not tolerate anybody hurting
them. If she discovered any injustice in how her family
was treated, she would not hesitate to fight back.

I talked on the phone with Mom every weekend. I remember
things that she told me. She was really happy that David
became freer in the way he talked to her after he changed
the direction of his life. She was really happy to see
Sayaka growing up to be a caring, warm and smart young
woman. She was happy that I worked hard to make David and
Sayaka happy and com- fortable. We were sur- rounded with
so much happiness and warmth we felt sure we would
accumulate many more happy memories with Mom.

But Mom had to go. One of her best friends said, Mom was
unchained. She didn’t have to worry about her family. All
of her sons were happy. All of her grandchildren were
growing up to be fine adults.

I can ‘t see Mom anymore, but she will live in my memory
forever. I’ll always remember what she taught me; the importance
of love in the family. Love is neither jealous
nor self-centered. Love is patient and forgiving. Love
lasts forever.