Virginia Rose Calkins-Sterling

I remember as a child growing up in a family of 6 kids that life was hectic. We certainly kept mom busy. Besides the usual “mom stuff” like laundry, cooking, keeping house, etc. Mom always found time to socialize with family and friends, run a daycare business and she was active in Amaranth. She always made a holiday special, making Halloween costumes for us (6 of us) and decorating our house. Talk about decorating! Christmas was a special time in our house. Weeks before she would have us bring out the boxes and boxes of decorations and our house would be transformed into something magical when it was time to decorate the tree, she would watch as the lights and ornaments went up. Then it was her turn. She would use packages of tinsel and slowly, carefully place each strand of tinsel into the branches, working into the wee hours of the night. The next morning we would see her “work of art” a silver pyramid of shimmering, shiny tinsel… I always wondered why we had a real tree, because you couldn’t see the green anywhere on that tree.

Mom also had a temper and she had a way of letting us know she was angry without even saying a word to us. She would slam cupboard doors and talk to the ceiling, I don’t know why she talked to the ceiling, but sometimes when I’m mad I find myself doing the same thing.

Mom was strict when we were growing up. She taught us values, responsibilities, and honesty. I didn’t always agree with her and we would butt heads and as I got older I realized that mom always had my back. As an adult our relationship changed. We did more things together like shopping, playing cards, cooking, crafting, camping, the list goes on and on. Some of my favorite memories are sitting at the table talking and laughing. My mom became my friend.

I’ve thought about how much I will miss her, but I realized that I see mom in my brothers and sisters. Her mannerisms, her recipes, her looks. I see her grandchildren collecting the same things that mom collected, decorating the home for the holidays with the same passion. She is here with us all we have to do is look around, you will see her in the eyes of her children. Eyes filled with love and the knowledge of knowing that we will see her again. Rest in peace, my dear mother. My friend.