MY MOM’S LEGACY
What Does a Well-Lived Life Look Like?
And what lessons will I take now that she’s no longer here?
When my mom, Rosyne, turned ninety, she ran a victory lap for having reached that ripe number (well, not exactly run or even walk, but she celebrated a spiritual lap).
Rosyne was very clear with her six children that she had lived a blessed life and was now ready for the Good Lord to take her. We, on the other hand, were experiencing what my economics teacher once called the “Pig Principle:”
If goods (in this case, moms) are good, we only want more.
So we convinced my mom that she had more in her tank and helped her forge ahead for another year of living. She actually gave us two before she had her way.
Rosyne’s Tough Start
Rosyne did not have an easy start in life. My grandfather had a gambling addiction that caused my grandparents to divorce in an era where divorces seldom occurred. My grandmother struggled to cope with her own harsh realities: divorced, poor, and overwhelmed by raising four daughters.
My mother, the oldest, alternated between playing sister and playing mother. The youngest sister, who so depended on my…
