None other, my mother-a Mother's Day tribute

This was actually the title of an "essay" assigned to my sister for Mother's Day when she was in 4th grade. My mother treasured this master literary work, it was the only childhood memento that she saved from any of us. None of our homemade cards, shell art, lariats or wood carvings made at camp were found among her treasures, just this paper.

The title aptly suited my mother. She was a superstar; I miss her every day. She was a good sport, had a wicked sense of humor, could hold a grudge better than any ten people I know, good cook, great hostess, patient mother, amazing grandmother, daughter and sister, a more than patient wife (usually), and more adventurous than I realized when I was young. She had an eye for style and workmanship, trusted friend, and was a skilled bridge and mah jongg player.

A child of the depression, her "stock up" mentality was borne from a childhood without money. To help our pantry with plenty of backup food, she shopped coupons. In Los Angeles, the stores gave double coupons-i.e., if you had a 50 cent off sugar coupon you saved a dollar. At any one time, we could have up to 30 pounds of sugar in the house, and my mother didn't bake!

Coffee, was also a big sale item, as was mayonnaise, mustard, canned anything, waxed paper, and toilet paper. We cleaned out my parent's house around 2003. I am still using her Cut-Rite waxed paper and Reynolds wrap foil (turns out I should've kept the toilet paper as well).

She bought a few canned hams for a party which she stashed in various places in the house. The one in the linen closet exploded. We cleaned ham off walls, floors and washed linens for days.

She loved to take pictures but was a terrible photographer. We were the first on the block to have a Super-8 movie camera, which she proudly toted in our new camera bag on a field trip to the Bronx Zoo with my sister's 4th grade class. She wondered, "was film left in the camera?" she looked through the lens, we have a close up of her eyeball.

She hated driving. It took her three attempts to pass the driving test and get her license. My brother (10 at the time), suggested she put a note in the newspaper warning people to beware when she's on the road. She would make five right turns to avoid making a left turn.

While living in Tucson, the neighbors watched in "shock and awe" when she pulled up our short hilly driveway, then exited the car with packages in tow, but forgot to put the car in Park. There was my mother, sprinting down the hill with grocery bags in her arms, screaming, "Wait for me, wait for me!" Needless to say, the car didn't wait, the neighbors were too stunned to do anything. Luckily, the car made a sharp left turn at the bottom of the driveway and circled into our other car parked on the street. My brother had good instincts about that warning.

Our house was always full, a cousin from New York came for a week visit, he stayed three years, my brother's friend's parents moved to Israel, he stayed with us to finish the school year. My sister's friend moved from Tucson to Los Angeles, she stayed with us for 6 months. My mother's theme song should have been "If I knew you were coming, I'd a baked a cake."

Mother's Day is coming, thank you for indulging my "walk" down memory lane. I am lucky to have a so many wonderful memories. Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms, a social distance hug to all!