My mom is a lovely, lively, mischievous, loving, kind, empathetic, funny, good, God-fearing woman. She often has more energy than I have and sometimes she gets around better than I do.
As evidenced by her climbing this tree with the other kids in the playground and I’m like, “Ugh – I have to lift my leg?! No thanks.”
Side note: the kids around her thought it was so cool that a grandma was climbing trees with them. I, on the other hand, nearly had a heart attack and could only think of one thing, “Please don’t fall!”
She’s 78 in this picture – she’ll be 80 this year and she hasn’t slowed down. She still gets around on her own, she lives on her own, she mows her grass, she climbs her attic stairs, (I made her promise she could only do that when someone was with her), she walks on the treadmill every day and she takes good care of herself.
She’s always been this way. My mom is fiercely independent and won’t ask for help, not unless she really needs it and if she’s asking? She needs it.
She’s creative and old school – the only thing my mom ever wanted out of life was to marry her soul mate and to have children.
Check, and check.
She’s had to make a lot of adjustments since my dad died – not just mentally, but to learn how to live by herself and be by herself. Mom married dad straight out of high school and she’s never lived on her own. Now, being on her own is all she knows. I won’t say it’s been easy for her, I know it’s been hard, and continues to be hard, and let’s face it, will always be hard and most certainly different, but she’s strong and her faith is what kept her from falling apart.
I’m so proud of my mom. She’s kept going when I know she wanted to give up. That’s hard and it’s admirable.
I’m grateful for her every day and I wish I could spend more time with her, I know she gets lonely. But the time we do spend together I never take for granted because life is short, life is precious and I plan on savoring every last minute.
I love you, mom.
Write From Karen 
I love this so much.