SingingPub

Saturday, 11 May 2024

Don’r Call Me Mom!

Jay and I dated for two years before getting married.  During that time, if I called his mother anything at all, it was Mrs. Jones. After we decided to get married, she told me I did not need to be so formal anymore.  I asked what…
Read on blog or Reader
Site logo image Jump for Joy! Read on blog or Reader

Don'r Call Me Mom!

carolynpriesterjones

May 11

Jay and I dated for two years before getting married.  During that time, if I called his mother anything at all, it was Mrs. Jones.

After we decided to get married, she told me I did not need to be so formal anymore.  I asked what I should call her.  Jay suggested, "Just call her Mom."

Mary Jo was horrified.  It was as if someone had suggested taking away something of infinite value she would never relinquish.

She told both of us, "Absolutely not.  I am Mother to only one person in the world and that is Jay.  You can call me Mary Jo or Jo, but not Mom."

And so began my life with Mary Jo that extended for 33 years.  

She was totally loyal to anyone who gained her trust and totally confrontative with anyone who crossed her.

She was opinionated and always ready to take on any debate because she was convinced she was right and the other person just needed to be shown the error of their ways.

She was a financial genius.  She and her financial advisor moved stocks around like they were day traders.

If we were going to buy anything, she was sure she could get a better deal.  And she usually could.  She was still "wheeling and dealing" a couple of weeks before her death.

She lived a fascinating and varied life.  Even though she traveled the world, she always came home to Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

She, like her mother before her, was a genealogist.  She was deeply rooted in the history of her native Hardin County, Kentucky.  She researched and wrote extensively about the people and events.

While she was very skilled in tracing ancestry, she said a person's life should not be reduced to just a line on a chart.  She made every effort to find all she could about the people themselves.

She lived the truth that every life has a story.  She was keenly aware she had a story and she was quick to tell it to anyone who would listen.  

Near the end of her life, she realized she would not always be around to tell her own story.  So more and more, she began to trust me with intimate glimpses into her life.

For all her accomplishments, what I shall remember most about her is how she loved those close to her.

She was a devoted daughter to her aging mother.  

She gave her heart to a young soldier named Jim Jones.  Their  love lasted a lifetime.  She said she would not want to live one day without Jim Jones.  She did not have to.  She died four years before he did.

She was a devoted Mom, who was involved in every chapter of her son's life.  She loved him totally and completely.

She was a doting grandmother.  We never had to guess what our daughter should call her.  As soon as she learned I was pregnant, she informed us she would be Granny and Jim would be Grampy.  And they were.

And yes, even though initially there were some growing pains in allowing another woman to love her son, she adjusted to me.

Even though she never let me call her Mom, she showed her love for me.  She called both Jay and me her children.  

In her latter, reflective years, Mary Jo and I had many deep conversations about life, love, loss, the past and the unknown future.

No one would have guessed it, but she was a deeply spiritual person.  She attended church, but her deepest worship came outside, walking in the woods, bird watching or simply reflecting on the wonder of God's Creations.

She would not have wanted to whither away in a failing body.  God took her quickly and unexpectedly.

In some ways, the massive stroke was like her life, a grand finale of a fireworks show.  When it was over, we could only sit and try to process what we had seen.

I delivered the eulogy at Mary Jo's funeral, carefully picking the parts of the story she was proudest of.  I was very aware it was her story and she would liked to have been the one to tell it.

Mary Jo left us many things, both tangible and intangible.  But one of my greatest treasures is on a scrap of paper.

Mary Jo had carefully written the last lines to Nancy Newhall's poem.  She kept it near her and read it frequently.  She knew wherever her earth journey was going, she would eventually reach the top.  And it would be worth the climb.

She wrote it to read it.  But I think she also wrote it so we would know where she had gone and where to join her one day.

You shall top a rise and behold creation.
And you shall need the tongues of angels to tell what you have seen!
Nancy Newhall

Happy Mother's Day, Mary Jo Jones!

Comment

Jump for Joy! © 2024. Manage your email settings or unsubscribe.

WordPress.com and Jetpack Logos

Get the Jetpack app

Subscribe, bookmark, and get real-time notifications - all from one app!

Download Jetpack on Google Play Download Jetpack from the App Store
WordPress.com Logo and Wordmark title=

Automattic, Inc. - 60 29th St. #343, San Francisco, CA 94110  

at May 11, 2024
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

No comments:

Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Plasmic Quantum Agape

“What is sown in our highest thought will grow & bear seed.” ͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏    ...

  • [New post] eRead of the Month: HERE FOR IT: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America
    Neil McKay posted: " This year's final eRead of the Month is HERE FOR IT: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Er...
  • The Rainbow Girls Connection
    Today marks the return of live music sags to Wise Madness; for many, this is wha...
  • [New post] Ceremony to mark Nakba
    ...

Search This Blog

  • Home

About Me

SingingPub
View my complete profile

Report Abuse

Blog Archive

  • July 2025 (25)
  • June 2025 (32)
  • May 2025 (16)
  • April 2025 (18)
  • March 2025 (21)
  • February 2025 (22)
  • January 2025 (16)
  • December 2024 (22)
  • November 2024 (8)
  • October 2024 (11)
  • September 2024 (11)
  • August 2024 (2722)
  • July 2024 (3200)
  • June 2024 (3080)
  • May 2024 (3199)
  • April 2024 (3101)
  • March 2024 (3214)
  • February 2024 (3014)
  • January 2024 (3244)
  • December 2023 (3192)
  • November 2023 (2685)
  • October 2023 (2042)
  • September 2023 (1758)
  • August 2023 (1539)
  • July 2023 (1533)
  • June 2023 (1380)
  • May 2023 (1397)
  • April 2023 (1335)
  • March 2023 (1392)
  • February 2023 (1320)
  • January 2023 (1600)
  • December 2022 (1555)
  • November 2022 (1389)
  • October 2022 (1230)
  • September 2022 (1023)
  • August 2022 (1109)
  • July 2022 (1122)
  • June 2022 (1141)
  • May 2022 (1120)
  • April 2022 (1178)
  • March 2022 (1085)
  • February 2022 (763)
  • January 2022 (924)
  • December 2021 (1347)
  • November 2021 (2424)
Powered by Blogger.