Inspiration

In Memory Of A Saint: Lessons From My Mother I Didn’t Pay Attention to Until She Died” manifested itself after my mother’s death in 2003.  In 1996 after my mother sold our family home, she moved in with me.  It was a necessary move as she began dealing with her declining health and having to adjust to the altered lifestyle that came with a weakened heart.

When you are living with an aging parent, the lines between parent and child often become blurred.  Yet my mother’s fight and spirit always reminded me that through and through she was still in charge in her own way.  My mom would often say to me “you won’t know the use of your behind until it’s sore,” which was her colloquial way of saying “you will miss me when I am gone.”

So after her passing, I realized how true her statements were.  After her death, I would reach out wanting to talk to her and ask her advice and realized that she was no longer here.  This was further evidenced by my friends, who would call to reminisce about Mom and the advice that she gave them, or a shared joke that they had and how they had treasured the true importance and wisdom of her words.  It was then that her words really sunk in — we really do take our loved ones for granted until after they are gone.  That became the inspiration for this book.