My Mom - Pauline Bass - Age21

Wanted to wish ALL of you a Very Happy Mothers Day!!!

This article is dedicated to my Mom; Pauline Bass 3/21/23 – 3/22/92

I love her and miss her and am so grateful for her love, her kindness and her wisdom.  She was my inspiration!  She was my best friend.

If you have been with me, you’ve probably read some of the stories she used to tell me, such as “How Do You Perceive The World?”.

Mom loved poems and inspirational quotes.  Here are a couple that I found, and wanted to share them with you.

Your Mother Is Always With You
~Author Unknown

She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.

She’s the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks.

She’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not well.

Your mother lives inside your laughter.

She’s crystallized in every tear drop.

She’s the place you came from, your first home.

She’s the map you follow with every step that you take.

She’s your first love and your first heart break.

Nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space, not even death…

will ever separate you from your mother…

You carry her inside you heart!

Generations come and go … But, oh all the lessons passed down from mother to daughter to her daughter and on.  Here is a 4 generation picture taken on my first Mothers Day in 1980 … The baby is my daughter Amy, my mom is holding her, then there is my maternal grandma, Bessie and me – Cindy ….

Mother’s Love  ~Author Unknown

There are times when only a Mother’s love
Can understand our tears,
Can soothe our disappoints
And calm all of our fears.

There are times when only a Mother’s love
Can share the joy we feel
When something we’ve dreamed about
Quite suddenly is real.

There are times when only a Mother’s faith
Can help us on life’s way
And inspire in us the confidence
We need from day to day.

For a Mother’s heart and a Mother’s faith
And a Mother’s steadfast love
Were fashioned by the Angels
And sent from God above.

To ALL Mothers, and Grandmothers, I’m wishing you a very Happy Mothers Day!!!

We often forget how many thoughtful, helpful compassionate people there are in this world.  Yes, there are people who are willing to help out a total stranger in desperate need.

A couple years ago I flew to Phoenix to visit my son. I was traveling alone.

On the return flight I had a layover at LAX.  From LAX there was a small shuttle plane that flew to the small desert community I live in.  It’s a good 3 hour drive.

Upon arriving at LAX I became very sick.  The terminal manager was keeping a close eye on me.  I kept insisting that I could take the small shuttle flight.  After about 2 hours of me being sick, she refused to let me on my shuttle flight, and called my husband to come to the airport to pick me up.

I would go in the ladies room, be sick and then come out to the terminal to lay on some nearby chairs.  There was a businessman who kept the seats empty for me.  He offered me water, crackers and anything that might help.  He kept saying he felt sorry for me.

What really surprised me as how many women helped me while I was in the bathroom, being violently ill.  Women wet paper towels to cool me off.  They held my long hair while I vomited.  They asked if there was anybody with me and if they could get anybody or anything for me.

About an hour after the terminal manager called my husband, she decided I was way to sick.  She told me she was calling the ambulance, and I would need to go to the hospital.  By this time, I was laying on the floor in massive pain.

It took the ER about 5 hours to get the vomiting to stop.  I had a combination food-poisoning gallbladder attack.  It was the sickest I have ever been in my life.  I was taken into surgery to have my gallbladder removed.

What amazed me is all of the people who sincerely cared about me that day.  They did everything in their power to help. I have often sent them a silent thanks.  To this day I have no idea who any of them were.

The next time you’re in a position to help out someone in need – DO IT!  We all need help at times. Remember that you reap what you sow.  It could be you or a loved one in need.

My ex was constantly threatening to leave me and the kids and to not give me a dime. This terrified me! I married him straight out of high school and had never –ever been on my own.

I had a supervisor Carole at the time. Carole was like a 2nd mom to me, and I confided in her often.

Carole consistently told me …

“It’s your choice to stay with him or not. You’re not going to change him. You need to accept that fact and decide what you want to do. It’s your choice how you live your life.”

Carole also laid down subtle hints to me ….

• “If he did leave, where would you live?”
• “How would you pay the bills?”
• “What would you drive?”
• “Who would fix your cars?”
• …

This really got me thinking. I started believing that I actually could live with out him. I began believing in myself and my own capabilities. I soon realized that my world did not have to revolve around his world.

It’s important to note that Carole never once told me to leave my ex. Her objective was to boost my self-esteem – and to possibly prepare me in case he actually did leave.

In matter of fact if you are currently in a bad marriage I suggest you read Save My Marriage Today. It’s better if you can find happiness and joy in your current relationship. Divorce has it’s own painful journey.

Over time, I began to see my self as a single parent. I began seeing myself taking care of all of the household chores.

For the first time in my life I had faith in myself and the courage to go out on my own. It was my choice to leave him. And let me tell you there was a heck of a lot of very surprised people – that all thought I was too dependent.

Regardless where you are today, you have the power to change it. You may not be able to change the circumstances – but you can change your reaction to them. It’s your choice how you live your life.

I always enjoyed these trips. I would often just gaze out the window taking in the scenery. I imagined what the land looked liked hundreds of years ago – when the Indians and buffalo roamed the land.

There were quite a few little shacks a long the way, and I often wondered what possessed anyone to make a home in middle of nowhere.

One year we took my little nephew Marty on one of these trips. Marty was four years old at the time. Within an hour of leaving our house Marty began asking ….

“Are we in New Mexico yet?”.

When we finally crossed the New Mexico border, my dad said “We’re in New Mexico now.”

Little Marty gave Dad a glaring look and replied “No we’re not.” My parents and I were baffled by his remark … Why didn’t he believe we were there?

Once we reached my Aunt’s house Marty hopped out of the car and began jumping up and down – “Yay, we are in New Mexico now!”. In his little mind, New Mexico – the destination was my Aunts house.

Thinking back on this trip, Marty missed out on all the beautiful scenery between here and there. He missed out on the road games I would’ve played with him – had he not been so anxious to “arrive”.

It’s really sad how many people live there lives that way. They are so focused on the destination that they don’t enjoy the journey. And then when they’ve reached their destination (the New Mexico border) it’s not nothing like they’ve imagined, so they don’t even realize they have arrived.

Take time to enjoy the now, once this moment passes you’ll never be able recapture it. As the old saying goes “Take time to smell the roses.” You’ll enjoy a fuller happier life that way.

Needless to say I wasn’t in the best of spirits. I was very depressed and was hanging on by a thread. To top it off I was working mandatory 60-hour weeks at a job I couldn’t stand.

I would get called into the managers office several times a week. I’d usually be written up for “my tone of voice”. Used to upset me quite a lot! I’d say I could not help my tone of voice. It wasn’t like I was yelling or anything; I never cursed or said anything derogatory.

I began seeing a psychologist so I could sort out all the problems in my life. One of my assignments was to stop whatever I was doing, and write down my thoughts several times per hour.

After a couple days I couldn’t handle my thoughts any more. Every single thing I wrote down was negative. A lot of it was stupid stuff – like ….

“That dress looks ugly on Mary” or “Sue is gaining weight”

This was a real “Light-Bulb” moment for me. No wonder I had a “tone of voice”. Every thought I was having was negative and condescending to others or to myself. My negative thoughts were flowing out – not only in my tone but in my actions – which were making people feel like I was being hostile.

From that time forward every time I would have a negative thought, I’d immediately replace it with a positive thought – such as “Mary’s hair looks nice today.”

It was amazing how quickly things changed. People stopped complaining about me and life at work became bearable.

Learn to be aware of your thoughts and make a conscious effort to always think positive thoughts.