Hi, It's Nathanael's Mom taking over his blog again :) On Saturday, the 10th of May 2008 just before Mother's Day, our dear Mom, Grammie, Sister, Sister-in-law, cousin aunt and Great-Grammie Ida E. Butler was finally laid to rest in East Orange Cemetary, East Orange Vermont. Mom was raised on a hill that looked down on this beautiful church and Dad grew up just next door to the church. It's an oft-photographed church and one can see why, it's just gorgeous!! This is especially true in the fall with all the brilliant colors splashed on the hills with it's brilliant maple and birch leaves. Mom and Dad are finally side by side, both in their wedding clothes, finally at rest. Next to them on one side is Gramm and Grampa Burroughs and uncle Elmer and on the other side is Gramm and Grampa Butler. What a beautiful layout!
It was a beautiful spring day, a bit of chill to the air yet a bit warm. During a prayer, when the family was very caught up in grief and sorrow, the sun shone down very hot and very bright. I, personally, know that Mom was allowed to look down upon us as we gathered by the side of her Earthly body. Though it made my heart ache for her more, it reminded me that she's not that far away.
Though I'd rather be having a cookout with Mom and looking at her newly sprouted flowers in the gardens than sitting here crying my heart out blogging about the experience, I know that I am richly blessed because not too many people can say they had the life we had. Very few of my generation can say they had an outhouse until 1976, very few of my generation went to a 3 room school house. Very few bathed in a pan on the kitchen floor. We had little in the way of luxury heck we had little in the way of necessity. But what we did have is immense love and family values. We didn't live near any town, we didn't really get to date, no drive-ins no restaurants. Saturday nights were spent eating popcorn and watching Lawrence Welk and you know what? We weren't any the wiser of any other kind of life. It was simple, wholesome and real. I cannot thank my parents enough for the life they gave me. I thought it was hard, I still sort of do. But my life as an adult got a whole lot harder. I have gone through things I never thought I would. We grew up not seeing police much less having to work with them or rely on them to protect me daily. I've seen the dark side of life, though not so dark compared to inner city folk but still. I've been to hell and I've been back. I would like to think that some of that success was due to the fact that I had these resilient parents with strict rules and expectations and led us to stand up on our own two feet and do what ever it is we needed to do to survive.
Despite how grateful I am that Mom and Dad are both finally free of pain and suffering and are no doubt in such a state of joy, I still want to go home, have Mom's special potatoe salad and hamburgers, do all the work we needed for the day and then head out fishing. Mother's Day was NOT Mother's Day without fishing. Let's not forget the creemies on the way home. Worm and fishy smelling hands holding and eating those luscious creemies. and yet...how quickly we forget our Mom dressing out the fish in the wee hours of the night without a complaint. It just simply needed to be done.
What a remarkable woman, I am SO so very lucky she is my Mom. God bless you Mom and thank you Lord for seeing fit to have her be my Mom. ..."til we meet again...I love you so much, beyond words.." Kitty
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