“The Water Skiing, College Professor, Book Editing, Mother of Eight”

I haven’t been sure how to write this Weekly Insight.

My mother died this past month, and though it’s been heart-wrenching, it’s also been a time of peace.

My mother was an amazing woman! 

One of my nieces succinctly described my mother this way.

“She was the water skiing-college professor-book editing-mother of eight.”

My mother was an academic, a professional writer/editor, a life-long learner, a wife, a mother, a woman of faith.

Intelligent, gracious, and loving are just a few of the words that describe her.

To teach, provide comfort, or understanding she would often share wisdom through memorized quotes – from Shakespeare to Benjamin Franklin, to Goethe to the Holy Prophets.

Indulge me in sharing just a few of the sayings she felt were important enough to memorize.

Mother’s Quotes:

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:21

“You cannot do wrong and feel right. It is impossible? Years of happiness can be lost in the foolish gratification of a momentary desire for pleasure.” Ezra Taft Benson.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…Courage to change the things I can and Wisdom to know the difference.” Reinhold Niebuhr

“You can’t put old heads on young shoulders.” American idiom

“The path of least resistance leads to crooked rivers and crooked men.” Henry David Thoreau

“Whatever principle of intelligence we attain in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.” Doctrine and Covenants 88:118

“Well done is better than well said.” Benjamin Franklin

“One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I have in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child.” Margaret Fishback Powers

“Each of us will have our own Fridays-those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

“But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death-Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

“No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.” Elder Jospeh B, Wirthlin

“My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.” President Thomas S. Monson

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 3:12

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy path.” Proverbs 3:5

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Though she earned various educational degrees and was accomplished in her work, what she valued most was her relationship with God, and with her family.

Though she is no longer physically with us, her influence continues to be felt by many.

How grateful I am, and how blessed I feel to call her my mother!

Much love,