R. I. P. Mama

Mama you're the Queen of my Heart.

Catherine Williams July 28, 1932 - November 13, 1997

 November is usually a somber month for me. I still grieve for my mom. I never got to say goodbye. Today makes 13 years that my mother went to be with the Lord.

This November is bittersweet. Although I still grieve,  I was blessed to watch the birth of my fifth grandchild on November 9th . A beautiful baby girl who is a perfect reflection of God's grace.

I would give anything to pick up the phone and talk to my mother. She was the best mother in the world. Sometimes just hearing her voice made whatever I was going through at the time bearable.  She was full of wisdom, kind, generous, loving, thoughtful, and loved by everyone who knew her.  She was affectionately know as Mama Cat to her grandchildren who still talk how much they love and miss her. 

I find myself teaching my children the same things she taught me. Sometimes I use the exact words. Some of my mama's pearls of wisdom:

a. Manners - Saying please and thank you will take you a long way in life.

b. Visiting - Make your visits short. People will get tired of you. Know when to take your behind home.

c. Decisions - Always be willing to suffer the consequences of any decision you make good or bad.

d. Drugs & Alcohol - If it was good for you, I would have plenty of here for you.

e. Roof over your head - Always pay your rent if you don't pay anything else. You can sit in the dark in your own place and someone will always feed you. But people aren't willing to have you live with them.

f.  PDA - Don't allow anyone to  kiss, hug , grope and feel all over you in public. Always be a lady in public and be respectable.  What you do behind close doors as two consenting adults is your business and should always remain that way.

g. Truth - Your word is your bond. If you said you would, do it.  Always have integrity. The truth needs no proof.

h. Liars- Liars can't be trusted. If you lie you will steal and if you steal you will kill.  Liars have to always look over their shoulders and try to remember the lies they told.  

i. Jesus Moments - There will come a time in life when everything seems to go wrong, or you don't know what to do. No one can help you not even your mother. Just remember these are Jesus moments and know that nothing lasts forever, you will make it through and this too shall pass. Just call on Jesus and give Him time to work it out.

I could go on forever with the pearls my mother left me.  I can't remember them all in one sitting but, the appropriate one always come to mind when I need it.

 As I sat observing my daughter with her new baby,  I thanked God for three generations in the room.  At that moment I had an epiphany,  Matriarch of my family is my role. I am my mother's oldest living child. My brothers tell me I act like Mama Cat, my children tell me I remind them of Mama Cat. I accept that compliment and wear that moniker with pride. I know that I represent the best of my mother.

Now there is a new generation of children to love.  To them I am affectionately known as Nana and although they never got to personally meet Mama Cat,  her love and influence lives on  through me.

Queen of Hearts