This is a billion times more important than the news
Oct 3, 2016, 5:59 AM | Updated: Dec 19, 2017, 5:03 pm
Though many may believe raising children isn't newsworthy, KIRO Radio's Dave Ross says the work mothers do is very important. (AP)
(AP)
My Mom passed away peacefully over the weekend. She was close to 93, and in hospice. It was not unexpected. And I know it’s not a newsworthy event, because she wasn’t famous, didn’t invent anything, and couldn’t stand politics.
Her main accomplishment — with some help from Dad — was raising four self-sufficient, relatively well-adjusted children. That is what a lot of moms do, which is why it’s not newsworthy. And yet at the same time, it’s pretty important, I think.
A lot of what I learned from her was shaped by her growing up during the depression. Her fiscal policy was you buy with cash, and what’s left over, invest in the phone company.
Her parents divorced when she was young and she was determined that her children would never see that kind of turmoil.
She couldn’t hold a grudge.
But she could lie. Like when she told my younger brother that if he didn’t brush his teeth they’d hop out of his mouth and wash themselves in the sink. And if he kept not brushing, one day they might just stay there.
Toward the end Mom would say I’m ready to go, I just don’t want it to hurt. But there was a little hitch in her plan. In her last few months, she met a younger man — age 90. She discovered they had a lot in common.
Pretty soon they were taking long walks together, and even dancing to Frank Sinatra in her apartment.
A few days ago she turned to me and said, “I thought I was ready to go. Now, I’m not so sure.” And she smiled.
Not newsworthy. But about a billion times more important than the stuff that is.
Rest in peace Mom.
-
Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
