How wonderful to have National Scrapbook Day and Mothers' Day fall on the same weekend! I've been wanting to design a scrapbook about my mom since she passed away several years ago. I know it would be extremely healing for me, and perhaps now the time is right for me to tackle that project.
Today I am re-posting a couple of layouts from my family's Heritage Album in which I attempted to capture the essence of my mom, Edith. I found it therapeutic just to rifle through the numerous photos of her to choose the ones that most reflected who she was at different stages of her life.
Growing up as an only child in a broken home, she dedicated herself to her marriage and her four children...determined to give her family many of the gifts and stability she lacked in her own childhood. She chose a hard-working, dependable, very handsome, country-boy-turned-engineer, Peter, to create her family with.
She was most proud of keeping a clean, well-run household and well-groomed, well-dressed children, as evident in this family portrait -taken shortly before our lives were altered forever by the political events of the time -mainly the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
I still marvel at my mom's courage as she agreed to leave behind her homeland, her parents, her friends, and all her earthly possessions to seek a life of freedom for her children. Amazingly, through it all, my mom managed to lead her brood from refugee camps to a fruitful life in America, the country she fell in love with mostly through Hollywood movies.
Before, she passed away in February of 2003, she created a wonderful life for herself, active in local women's clubs and church organizations, staying in touch with a multitude of friends all over the world, and traveling to her heart's content. She had her challenges, and was far from perfect, but she raised her children well and loved her eight grand-children deeply...and undoubtedly, she was always well-meaning and did her best.
In honor of Mothers' Day, I thank you and I salute you, Anyu!
Wishing moms, teachers, and childcare providers everywhere a happy and restful Mothers' Day, Enikö
(If you'd like to view the entire Heritage Album, just click on the link in the Catergories column on the left of this blog.)
