Thursday, November 12, 2009

My Beautiful Mother


Born November 12th, 1924 in the humblest of surroundings.

Helen Irene Dorsey

My mom.


She had a smile and laugh that would light up the world.

Fiercely loyal to family and loved ones.


More heartache than one woman should have to endure.


To honor my mother today, I curled my hair. She always set her hair in rollers, and wore a white scarf. I have that scarf, and I wore it today. I baked two Lemon Meringue pies. Her favorite. I thought about her all day, trying to find her in my face, my hands, my life.


I didn't have to look too far. She's passed to me a legacy of love and joy. I'm determined to keep my mom alive in my heart by daily choosing to love, choosing kindness, and choosing to be strong and faithful in the little things, which ultimately, are the biggest things.

Home.
Family.
Friends.



21 comments:

  1. Is that piece of rosemary up my nose bothering anyone else? It's all I can see when I look at this picture.....makes me want to sneeze. :-)

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  2. Ohmygosh...I did not notice the rosemary in your nose until you mentioned it. Funny.

    What a beautiful way to remember and honor your dear, sweet mom. She looks like such a wonderful and caring lady. I love the photos of her. Interesting I was just looking at old family photos this morning in front of the fireplace. Cozy morning with tea and a smile.

    Nice photos of you. Nice hair do...love the fancy barrett in you hair.

    Happy thoughts to you.

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  3. Jayme, what a beautiful picture! With or without the rosemary up your nose. I must confess I did rub my nose as it had somewhat of a tickle. :)
    I'm sorry you're missing your Mother but yet thankful that you're honoring her. Not many honor their Mom's who are still alive. :( The pictures are wonderful. I love looking at old pictures as I can relate to them so well. Just walks down memory lane for me.
    I used your bathroom and didn't notice toilet paper sitting in there. What I did notice was how adorable it was, how very clean it was so stop worrying about it. When you get in these modes take time to thank the Lord for all you do have. It really is a beautiful little world you live in looking in from the outside.
    Oh yeah, that pic of chickie's butt was perfect...that's how I see most of my days!

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  4. ((((((Jayme))))))OMG thanks for making me cry!!!!!Now I love you even more. You are sooooooo beautiful on this picture, rosemary and all. You just look stunning.

    I love my mom and dad so much that this made my heart ache.

    How lucky she was , after all that heartache to have such a beautiful daughter like you. Just that can make up for so much that she must have gone through.

    My daughter does not even talk to me, so I am sitting here crying and I can not see the screen....it feels like all my pain is just pouring out of me. Your love for your mom humbles me, and how much I love my daughter and how much I miss her, I can not describe this pain. I have not even seen my grandson, he is 4 years old. I miss my beautiful little girl so much................

    I will just go and cry myself to sleep now.

    God bless you Jayme and that beautiful woman that gave birth to you. You give daughters a good name, and I am happy to be in that category................

    Oh dear God what I would do to have my little girl back..we were so close, and after she got married I have not seen her. I found out from facebook that she is pregnant, and as happy as I am my heart aches thinking how I will probably not see that baby either. God help me.

    You look like an angel on this new picture, you should make this your new avatar.....

    Mirjana

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  5. Ya know...I thought that was a GREAT picture of you until I read your comment about the rosemary up your nose...now it's all I see when I look at it!

    Although naturally curly, I started to put curlers in my hair last year as a means to control frizz and give height on top... and on occasion, I thought of your mom as I walked around the house with them on...

    Your mom is in you, around you, part of you...I see it in the way you live your life. I'm sure she was/and would continue to be very proud of you...(as well as constantly amused!)

    Your mother was a lovely woman. Humble, elegant, simple, graceful...your mom had no idea that the example she set with her life had a positive impact on so many others. Thanks for the pictures... The one of her in the house dress is exactly how she remains in my mind.

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  6. You are so beautiful Jayme...rosemary or no. Great post about your mom. Have you written about her before? Would love to read more about her.
    I think I picked up some of my best dysfunction from my mom. And decorating genes. Makes for smashing combo, let me tell ya.

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  7. Jayme the picture of you is beautiful, with or without the rosemary. You look gorgeous!!!
    I really enjoyed this post. My mom and I get along great and I love her so much, but since she's in Germany we don't get to see each other very often. Makes the time we do get to spend with each other even more precious.

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  8. Parsley, sage, rosemary in her snoot...everybody sing along!!!

    Maybe the broody's hit cause you were missin yur mama. But you've found the perfect ways to honor her and beat the broody's back!! Chocolate self medication and sharing memories.

    Personally, I think you'd feel even better if it was also the chocolate you were sharing. My chocolate stash is empty. I hear you gasping!

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  9. What a wonderful beautiful post Jayme. Your mother was just beautiful. You look so much like her. And I like your hair curled like that.

    I hope you have a good day remembering.

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  10. Oh girls, you are so sweet. Mirjana, you've broken my heart. I know deep in my heart you will have a relationship with your daughter again. It's gotta be awfully tough right now though, I'm sorry.

    Peggy, I just love it that you have memories of my mom, and I love reading them. Love it love it.

    Wish I could photoshop out the rosemary on my nose. I was just thinking about my mom and Aaron snapped this. Like how I hid all my 'oldness' with my hands. Oh ya, great trick. :-)

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  11. The photos of your mom are precious. There's nothing like black and white photos of loved ones to make you feel grounded and safe and strong! I found a bunch of photos of my grandparents a couple of years ago and made a book on Shutterfly. It's a precious keepsake. You mom is so pretty in the photos ... just like her daughter! I love the photo, even if you're a rosemary sniffer! It's a gorgeous photo of you. LOVE your hair and the clip! Thanks for sharing your Home. Family. Friends.

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  12. That was beautiful, you made me tear up. Love the black and white photos, and the one of you. You're beautiful inside and out and I know your mama's proud of you!

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  13. Jayme,
    I was so very touched by your beautiful memories of your Mother. Loved the photos and the beautiful picture of you at the end. You are so special !

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  14. Sweet mom memories! Your hair looks beautiful.

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  15. Jayme, Take it from someone who knows, you definitely look like yo mama. My heart aches when I see those old pictures of her. She was a beautiful woman inside and out. I think of her often and miss her too. I'm sure she was very proud of you and who you turned out to be. Take care.

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  16. You bear such a resemblance to your beautiful mother. That is a gorgeous picture of you with the Rosemary (nose tickler or not!). And mmmm, lemon meringue pie is one of my faves. Yours look perfect. Such a nice tribute to your mother! -Tammy

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  17. Jayme, I can do nothing but cry when I read this post about your mom. All the wonderful things about my mom come flooding into my head.

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  18. Sweet Jayme...
    If your mom's name wasn't Helen Irene Dorsey, I'd swear we were sisters b/c I lived in the SAME HOUSE with the SAME WALLPAPER! And that snap of Bill and Irene...it'd pass for my very own kinfolk! Thanks for reminding me to call my dear Mom...give her a hug and take her shopping! Something we USED to do quite often, but health issues seem to get in the way a lot now for her. I'm going to make her a Lemon Pie too...her FAVORITE!
    Thanks for this post...one of my favs and I've been lurking for quite some time now.

    ~Your St. John neighbor...and we WOULD be good friends btw!! I've added your email to my bloglist preferences b/c I've had to make it private. Some CRAZY lonely {man} in Chicago thought we needed to be friends...and left nutty comments on my blog...so I had to shut the door for a spell.

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  19. You are a class act like your mother. Yes you are.

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  20. Catching up on my blog reading after a few days away and just read this. Very beautiful. Very nice writing to boot.

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