Saturday, July 21

Leota Ann Niederhauser


On July 5th, 2007, just two days short of her birthday, my momma passed away. She would have been 77 on 7/7/07. She had suffered a series of strokes over the last 14 months. I miss her like crazy!!!
My mother was my teacher. She handled every situation with grace and taught me many, many lessons about life, business and relationships. She taught me from a very early age, unbeknownst to either of us. She taught me how to work hard, keep my nose to the grindstone and make do. She taught me by example. She never stopped working... never wanted to. She taught me about loving what I do and doing what I love. She taught me how to treat others as I would like to be treated and to cover my own rear end, because it wasn't likely anyone else was going to do it for me. She taught me how to never give up and to find a way to make things work, no matter how impossible they might seem. She taught me how to admit wrongdoing and do the right thing. She taught me to listen to the positive, learn from the negative and move forward. She taught me how to stand up for myself, fend for myself and not back down from adversity. She taught me about love and how hard it can be, about reality and how hard it can sting. She taught me to trust, but also to question. She taught me that I was as good as anyone else, but not better, that I had much to offer the world, but not to step on toes on my journey.
My mother is still teaching me now and will likely never stop. She's teaching me about taking a good hard look at myself and my situation and about making steps to better myself. She is teaching me to look forward without losing what I've gained from the past, teaching me to move ahead and leave a trail. I'll continue to try to follow her trail. She left a good one.

3 comments:

  1. Your momma was awesome. I have goosebumps reading what you wrote about her. And I learned some of those samel essons from her- not that she taught me directly, but through observation. You were blessed to have her as long as you did and even more blessed (though it feels sad now) to have such an awesome guardian angel.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Polly
    Great web site. The picture of your mom and your words made me cry. Though I was just her waitress at the cafe, I could see all her goodness just through her smile. Our mothers are a lot alike. Thanks for reminding me of that.
    Keep her smile always,
    meg
    woolywooly
    lincoln cafe

    ReplyDelete
  3. What an awesome tribute to your mother. It brought tears to my eyes, as I lost my father Sept 6, 2007 after complications from brain surgery.

    I love the fact that you are able to look forward and leave a trail. Your mother would be proud of you.

    I want to open my own little shop within the next year; my way of 'moving on'.

    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete