Memories of Jeanine's Mom

Memories of Mom 2015 One of my earliest memories of Mom occurred when I was probably 2½-3 years old. Carl and I were the only preschoolers at home. One day, Mom was sick, and sitting in chair near a window in the living room. We asked what made her sick and she explained that sometimes people just got germs. Upon learning that they were tiny things in the air, we thought we should keep germs away from her. I noticed dust mites in the sunlight. I pointed them out to Carl and we started dancing around and batting the dust mites away from her. At one point in our efforts, I noticed Mom’s expression—it was one of complete adoration and love. In that moment I knew that Mom loved me in a way that words could not express. I have never forgotten that moment. As I got a little older, I learned about the pre-mortal existence. I learned that there was a council in heaven and that when we heard the plan of Heavenly Father we shouted for joy. In my “mind’s eye”, Mom and I were both little girl spirits. We had on long dresses with ribbons at a high waist line. We started laughing and shouting. We grabbed hands and danced around in a circle because we were so about getting to come to earth. We had lots of fun deciding which of us would be the mom and which would be the little girl. It was a fun “memory” or imagination of our participation in the Council in Heaven. Mom always knew how to make each one of us feel loved. I truly believed that she was convinced she had been blessed with the eight most choice spirits in the Spirit World to be born into her family. It was a good feeling. I remember having a campout at Camp O’ Rama with Mom and Aunt Dode. I don’t know if it was the two groups of Homemakers in Primary or Beehives in Mutual. But it was a fun time. It was definitely magnifying their callings. During our growing up years, many of us ran for school offices. Mom stayed up late at night helping with posters and handouts to share with the student body. She didn’t think there was any limit to what we could accomplish. Many times she had more confidence in me than I had in myself—but she gave me the courage to forge ahead and reach for the stars. Mom always expected a lot from us. We definitely had lots of responsibilities and learned to work. But she also liked to help us grow in other ways. She had us share many things we learned in school and we developed a love of learning. We discussed Sunday School lessons around the table during Sunday dinner. We had Home Evening on Sunday afternoons and each one of us had the responsibility of teaching the lesson. Once we had a TV I remember watching historical movies with mom and then afterwards we’d get the World Book Encyclopedia to look up the main characters and try to determine how much of the story was fact and how much was fiction. She made it fun to learn. Mom loved good books. She didn’t have time to read a lot herself, but she encouraged me to read and to tell her every little detail about the books. Many of them she had read when she was young, and she remembered and discussed them with me. She encouraged me to ride my bike down to the city library during the summer (Carnegie Library). One summer I read the entire Zane Gray section of the library. When I was a junior in high school, I read a book about the life of Abraham Lincoln. I was home from school because of an illness. When Mom got home from teaching seminary, she heard me sobbing and thought I must have gotten much worse. She came rushing into the bedroom to see what was wrong. I sobbed, “Abraham Lincoln just got shot!” She paused for a dramatic moment and said, “Honey, didn’t you know that was going to happen?” When I went through a phase of reading lots of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky’s works, she loved hearing about Russian culture and history. It made it more real and enjoyable because I was able to share it with Mom. She truly exemplified “life-long learning”. Mom taught seminary my last couple of years in high school. She was an amazing teacher. Due to her leadership and vision, we planned a seminary trip to the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and visited the Palmyra Pageant and many church history sites. The next year I had to come home from college because of rheumatic fever. She utilized my help in preparing for seminary. She gave me her topics and resources and I researched them while she was gone. Sometimes we stayed awake many hours into the night discussing the gospel. We had a ton more information than she would ever be able to use. It was a testimony building time for me as well a bonding experience for the two of us. I think that is when we became “adult friends” and not just mother and daughter. Mom had lots of challenges and stresses in life—as all mothers do. But they didn’t control her life. We often got to laughing about some ridiculous thing and could hardly stop. Sometimes we questioned our own sanity. I’d tease her about it being her fault, but she always retorted that she was a perfectly normal, sane person until I came along, so it was actually my fault. Then I remind her that my personality was formed from either my heredity or my environment and she was responsible for both! It was a fun, ongoing argument about which one of us made the other one a little bit crazy. As an adult, it was my privilege to live next door to Mom and Dad. They supported me during the most challenging trials of my life. Mom was always there for me. If my kids were sick, she made a little “nest” for them on her little couch and took care of them so I could work. The kids loved being sick at Grandma’s house. Mom and I were Visiting Teaching partners for 18 years. Thanks to her persistence we had 100% for all 18 years. She was willing to fit my crazy schedule. We sometimes had to visit just one sister at a time, because that is all the time I could manage on that afternoon. She’d call me at work to check on my schedule; then she’d make to appointments. I’d rush home from work, and she would be at the gate, ready to jump into the car so we could go visit one or two sisters. Then we’d repeat this on another day or two until we had visited everyone. It was crazy. But we had a calling and an obligation, and we were going to fulfill it. No questions asked! Mom loved my children and was a great influence on them. She would sacrifice for her grandchildren the same as she did for her children. Each of them felt uniquely loved! What great memories we have of tying quilts in the front yard with both Mom and Grandma Tenney. All ages had a chance to participate as we laughed and talked and worked together. That was true when I was growing up and also while the next generation was growing up. That was almost as fun as going to the ranch with Grandpa! I could go on and on… but mostly I just want to say that someday I hope I am the person my mother always thought I was. She encouraged and inspired me in every worthwhile activity. I miss my mom and hope my life will be a positive reflection on her.