Life as I know it has changed

 My wonderful mother passed away June 25^th. This photo of her with two of my granddaughters was taken the first part of June. She was a genuine, amazing woman.  I miss her greatly, and always will, yet at the same time I find honor in the fact I was so very fortunate to have called her “Mom”. She raised eight kids, and at the time of her death had 24 grandchildren and 37 great-grand children.  A unique, little known fact about my mother was that she was given the name of Arlene Ruth at birth, but when she was 18 months old her name was legally changed to Mary Jane. Her older sister, Betty Ann, had passed away at the tender age of six. Betty Ann had always called her baby sister Mary Jane, so after Betty Ann succumbed to meningitis, my mother’s aunt paid to have her name legally changed from Arlene Ruth to Mary Jane. That had been in 1933 and cost my great aunt over $300. I’ve always loved that story about my mom.

Besides being my mother, she was my greatest fan. One of the last entries in her journal said, “Lauri got good news from London.” And this morning, I heard her whisper in my ear. “You have edits to work on today.” And I do. I have three stories that have deadlines, so with my mother's never failing encouragement, I’m going to end this blog post, shut down my internet, and immerse myself in the Wyoming Territory with a mail ordered bride.

“A mother holds her children's hands for a while, but their hearts forever.”