One of the unsung heroes

One of the unsung heroes
I'm sitting in my mother's house while she lies quiet and alone in Radzieta's Funeral Home. The night before, she was at Shore Memorial Hospital struggling to breathe and drifting in and out of sleep. I spent that day ignoring the obvious and clinging to hope. I expected that this day I would be feeding her ice chips, renewing her resolve and setting her on the path to recovery. Instead, I received an urgent call. "Your mother has taken a turn for the worse."
My mom wanted to live 100 years. As she said, "I'm hanging around just to bug you kids." And she did manage to bug us, but she was a humorous kind of bugger.
She didn't tell jokes; she just said funny things. When she checked into the hospital, the nurse asked: Name? Age? Height? Weight? With weight, Mom protested, "Do I have to tell you?"
"Just approximately," the nurse replied.
"About 195 pounds," Mom said quietly. At 5 foot 2 inches tall, 195 pounds made her a well-rounded woman.
Then the nurse asked, "How is your appetite?"
"How do you think I got to be 195 pounds?" Mom quipped.
Within the week, she lost her battle to reach 100. She was 85.
A friend once told me that life is all about stuff -- accumulating it, consuming it and coveting it. Men like Caesar, Washington and Carnegie lived big lives. They built empires, nations and industries filled with stuff. My mother built none of these. She barely had an estate. In the realm of stuff, her life was minuscule.
But I think my friend is wrong. Life isn't about stuff. It's about life -- the sheer act of living. Of all the things we strive for, the most desired is immortality. We want life, not stuff.
The Bible says that God is the giver of life. Of all who aspire to be gods, none come closer than mothers, for they give God's gift form. They are the thread that ties a billion finite lives into life's continuum. God may give humans the hope of immortality, but mothers give humanity the reality of immortality. It is a legacy greater than stuff.
My mom's legacy is in the faces of her family. She gave birth to four children. They created seven grandchildren. And they gave her nine great-grandchildren. She was the cornerstone of our family, the beginnings of a community and the foundation of a nation. It is a legacy greater than that of Caesar, Washington and Carnegie, who built but did not birth.
I know that all mothers die. Mine is no exception. Still, I cried. I cried in part because her passing leaves me with an enormous responsibility. I must continue what she started. I must celebrate what she created. And I must do it without her protective wing.
It is a scary proposition, but I am comforted by the knowledge that my mother's life has made the world a better place. She and mothers everywhere are life's unsung heroes, and we are their children. Each act of kindness that we perform, each celebration of life that we trumpet, and each gift of charity that we bestow honors their memory.
THOMAS MASKELL
Poland