Mom-isms

• You know if you soak a pan it makes it easier to clean?

• I understand the concept…

• Jim/Nicole/Melissa! I’m gonna pinch your head off!

Wind Chimes

My mother loved wind chimes. When I went to NC for Mom’s birthday in 2023, she had a lovely set with the most beautiful ring. It would tinkle in the background as we sat on the deck and watched the sun disappear behind the crepe myrtles. I mentioned how much I loved them, which set Mom on a mission to buy me wind chimes. We encountered several in our travels that weekend, but I would not let her buy them for me. The last night I was there, we were on the porch, winding down, a comfortable silence settling around us. I took a deep breath, sighed, and said: “Man…I really wish *I* had some wind chimes.” She sputtered and said a few choice words before we collapsed into laughter. It’s one of my favorite memories of her.

Tom Tom

One weekend, the three of us drove down to Canton for First Trade Days, and the idea of buying Mom a Tom Tom to help her navigate around North Texas came up. Melissa and I were going back and forth about the merits when Mom broke in, a look of confusion on her face, asking how a drum was going to help her get around. We laughed so hard, we cried.

H2O Hijinks

Mom and Jim would go to the Hill Country Resort timeshare for a week every year. As we got older, Melissa and I would join them. Lots of goofiness, laughs, and terrible karaoke on the deck. Melissa, the family prankster, was always looking for an opportunity to wreak havoc. Knowing mom could not abide by dishes in the sink, she put a rubber band around the spray nozzle and a dirty knife in the sink. Then she waited. It didn’t take long for Mom to come blowing into the kitchen. After a brief exclamation over the knife, she turned on the faucet. Full. Blast. We laugh about it now, but she was madder than a wet hen when she finally got the water turned off.