Mom, aka Elva Dirksen
Can’t Never Did Anything!! ~ Mom
Mom would have been 92 this month and while she had been ailing for months, it was a surprise when we got the call saying she had passed. Neal and I had just visited her less than 12 hours earlier.
This month, I want to share my mom with you. Mom was a trooper. She was a fighter. She never gave up. She caught tuberculous when she was 18 and spent several years in a sanitarium. When she walked out of the sanitarium, a doctor told her he hadn’t expected her to live and also suggested she not have children. She married, and over the course of 19 years, gave birth to four. I like to believe I’m special (since I’m here and I wasn’t supposed to be). Please don’t try to convince me otherwise.
When faced with hard tasks, mom would encourage us by saying “Kent never did anything!” Kent is my baby brother. It was infuriating to hear Kent never did anything. Like I didn’t already know that? Kent had mastered the disappearing act when chores needed to be done. I was in my twenty’s before I figured out she was saying “CAN’T” never did anything! She was correct (in both instances) . If you think you Can’t you Won’t! You’ve already lost the battle. If you think you Can, there’s a good chance you Will.
Mom taught us if a job was worth doing, you might as well save the time and do it right the first time. Doing the job twice is wasteful and inefficient.
Mom taught us to expect the unexpected. One hot summer day, my sister was washing dishes and I was drying. Mom was outside the kitchen window watering her rose bushes. I don’t remember who thought it was a good idea to spray mom with the kitchen sink sprayer, I will assume it’s Ann’s fault because I’m really too sweet to think of dastardly things on my own. I do remember thinking we would be safe because we were inside. I was confused! Mom drenched us with the garden hose.
Mom taught us to work hard, pray harder, and leave the rest to God. My family and I would like to say THANK YOU to those who have been covering us with prayers. We feel the love. And interestingly, this video came through my email today. I’m pretty certain my mom could have been a Navy Seal.
AS always, if you need someone to work hard or pray harder for you or your business, give us a call. We would love to help.
~ Janet