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My Gentle Mother

Posted on March 11, 2023March 11, 2023 by Pam

Today I learned that my friend, Rita’s, Mom passed away in February at age 107. What a remarkable feat! My own sweet Mother passed in 2008 at age 86. Oh how I miss her. It is true that you cannot do enough for a mom because when she is gone that is it for now. Don’t lie with regrets over a commission or omission. She knew you loved her. I remember Rita saying that her Mom would have a little sherry before dinner ever night. I don’t think that is any secret to a long life but I do know DNA has something to do with it. I’m guessing that Rita will outlive me! I also know that the quality of a life is more important. I believe that the best things I know came from my mother, Nelda. She was artsy and I love color. She was a giver who wrote letters every day. I am a great communicator and a creator. Was Nelda brave? I’m sure she was but today I practiced something opposite to her. Many years ago we took a vacation where the meals were included. I remember watching her order grape juice for the first course, night after night. She may have loved grape juice but she may have been unsure of the other items offered. I am on vacation. I took a full hour for breakfast along with chatting with other guests and reading another Agatha Christie novel. Everything I choose I had never sampled before. The food is not the point but embracing the new. I may no longer grab a hard-boiled egg as I run out the door or eat another dry bread crust with peanut butter like I have been eating for the past few months. I will try not to rush anything. What is retirement to you? I think it includes resting better, taking time, and being thoughtful about choices – especially regarding time. What would God prefer I do other than include people and happiness in each day? I am on a mission to finish well but not finish perfectly. There is room for the grape juice kind of day! Lastly, I do not know what faith or thoughts Rita’s Mom had in the end. I never met her but heard that she died peacefully. I hope she is in Heaven. The best thing Nelda did for her children was to teach us about Jesus. I have eternal life and will someday hold my Mother again. Will we toast with grape juice?

"Thoughts from a genuinely evaluative mind."

Pam writes so that must make her a writer. Recently retired, she can now fill days with family, friends, missions, writing, creating, and showing up for whomever needs her. Pam loves the Lord and people. The Bible is God’s love letter to us (and who does not need more love) so she studies and writes some more.

Pam lives in the Pacific Northwest but was home-grown in Southern California. She attended San Jose Bible College and finished a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry at UCLA. She became a teacher, then a Research and Development Chemist, then she built two successful real estate businesses in two states. Pam also pursued study at Fuller Theological Seminary and just completed six months serving in missions abroad.

Pam has two amazing children, married to two precious in-laws, and five sweet grandchildren. Pam is a gifted connector and communicator and the Northwest has the perfect climate for staying inside and writing – or baking! She has been writing since a wee one and is currently converting many years of blogging, by topic, into ten books. The first is a collection from 2011 titled, Beautiful Enough. The second is a yearly day-timer titled, Weekly Planner - Lessons in Life, Glory, and Grace. Number three is in progress with the working title, Christmas Today.

Ten facts about Pam in no particular order:

  1. On the team that developed an insulation for the Alaskan oil pipeline.
  2. Loves looking at homes, decorating, and has flipped five homes.
  3. Likes being tall.
  4. Films have helped define her vocabulary.
  5. Comes from Colorado tenement farmers with history traced to Wales.
  6. Was lost but now is found.
  7. Baking makes her happy – as does eating sweets with coffee, of course.
  8. She thinks mission work is the most important work in the world.
  9. The church started in Rome so she is learning Italian.
  10. Pam is a work in progress!

“I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah 46:4

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