Helen Louise Muser Poje was born on Christmas in 1924 and made it to 96 years of age. We are gathered here today as part of the last step on Mom’s Amazing Journey to her final physical resting place.
How do you condense 96 years of life down to a couple minutes of tribute? What is said here is so little of what I would like to say.
Peggy from St. Joseph’s once jokingly asked me what sins Mom could possibly have to confess when she went to Lenten confession. In one sense this sums up Mom’s existence. She belonged to a generation that was bred to never commit what could be even remotely considered a sin and she couldn’t understand how anyone could possibly do anything that could be even remotely considered a sin. That’s who she was.
Mom’s greatest joy in her life was her children and her grandchildren. Nothing meant more in the universe to her than the love of her family. This love is symbolized by the 6 red roses for her children, the six pink roses for her grandchildren and the white rose for her great grandchild.
I believe that the word attitude is really relevant for today. In my personal life and professional career I constantly find myself telling others that the word attitude is one of the most important words in the world. How much you accomplish and how much you enjoy life you yourself determine with your attitude.
I can’t speak for anyone else. I can only tell you what my attitude is. My attitude is that today is a day of sorrow but it is not a day of painful sorrow. Mom made it to 96 and went out living at home most of her life. How can I feel pain over such a life having been led?
My attitude is that Mom really didn’t want much for herself in life. She really wanted the best for her children and grandchildren that she could give. This didn’t always work out as she hoped and she didn’t always express herself well but she really did mean well. She was just a human being who always thought she was doing what is best; just like so many millions of other humans.
When dad was dying he asked me to take care of mom. He said “she will need you.” What a prophet he was!
I had an attitude choice. I had nothing in common with mom and I could continue to have nothing in common with mom or I could find ways for us to have something in common. My attitude was that I was going to make moms life happier by finding a way to be a regular part of her life.
I never started working crosswords because I like working crosswords. I started working crosswords because it gave mom and I something to talk about every week. In talking with mom weekly I understood she had a big hole in her heart. Just one time she wanted a family reunion so that she could feel like a real Mother and Grandmother seeing all her family together.
In 1998 that reunion happened. My attitude is that reunion was the greatest combo Birthday Christmas present she ever had in her life. If that reunion had not happened then it would never have happened and she would have spent the last 20 plus years of her life with a big painful hole in her heart. Instead that reunion gave her a joy that carried her forward for decades. Seeing her children and grandchildren all together was for her the greatest event in human history. That’s who Mom was.
13 years ago I had a choice to of what to do with the next phase of my life. I made over 6 figures a year and could have done so for the last 13 years and I could have so many more material possessions and be farther along in my career and lived a life I would have preferred to live but mom needed my help. My attitude could have been that taking care of mom was a chore; I chose to take an attitude that we were on an Amazing Journey together to her sunset and that we would make it as enjoyable as possible along the way.
The storyboard is the framework for a future book I plan on writing titled Moms Amazing Journey. It is the story of a journey Mom and I took across America so that she could see her world one last time while she was able to do so but it is also the journey we took together through life. My attitude was that this Journey was her wish and that I would do my best to make my mother happy.
I can’t get back the 13 years of my life spent taking care of mom. My attitude is that I didn’t trade the time not only taking care of mom but also enjoying our final years together for all the money in the world.
Mom’s Amazing Journey has now ended. My attitude is that she passed happy knowing that she did the best she could to provide for her children and grandchildren the best she knew how to do. My attitude is that means she got the most out of her life that she could. My attitude is that means she was a success with the one life she had to live. My attitude is that makes mom a pretty cool person who everyone should be proud to call their mother or grandmother.