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Welcome Home Mom & Dad ~
Please allow me to beg your
understanding and offer up my thanks to all of you for your kind consideration
of me these past few months. It has been
a rough road, yet death is a part of life!
My personal life and family took front stage these past months… I hope
to get caught back up with all my tasks here at CSC Talk Radio and my
obligations to you in the next couple of months. (optimistically
speaking)
I lost my mother the first week of January 2015… she fought
a long hard battle with the debilitating disease of Alzheimer’s. When I lost my dad February 7, 2007 – I
wrote a tribute to him in Derry Brownfield’s newsletter, The Common Sense
Chronicle, for which I was his executive editor as well as one of his
writers. I felt it only fitting that I
honor my mother in the same manner. I
will share both here because they are now together – forever!
An American Minute –
An American Dad
By Beth
Schoeneberg
(Published February
2007- The Common Sense Chronicle)
"I shall be telling this with a sigh,
somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the
one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" wrote Robert Frost in "The
Road Not Taken." He first published poems in his high school bulletin. He
graduated co-valedictorian with the woman he was to marry. Farming in New Hampshire , he wrote
poetry and taught at several schools. After a brief time in England , he taught at Amherst
College , the University of Michigan Pittsburgh ,
Robert Frost stated "Ultimately, this is what you go before God for:
You've had bad luck and good luck and all you really want in the end is
mercy."
It has been a trying time for my family and me. I lost
my father February 7 (2007) to colon cancer.
He fought the fight with great valor and won the victory of eternal
life. Perhaps many of you have
experienced such a loss… we were allowed the most difficult time but honor to
care for him in the last weeks of his life and to hold his hand as he slipped
to the other side.
Dad may never be the subject of an American Minute but
he was a WW-2 Veteran as well as an American Dad, and he too chose the path
less traveled. He didn’t die a rich man
but he died a man of honor and was known for his wit, integrity and faith. He is remembered by many as a man who served
the Lord, knew the scriptures well and lived his life in such a manner as to
honor God our Father.
We reminisced as a family – each of us with our own
fond and funny memories experienced with Dad.
I find it astounding how one life can touch so many people; each friend,
acquaintance and family member with their own special memories. Dad entered many homes as a local piano tuner
and after tuning he’d sit down and play a tune (tickle the ivories) – we
laughed and said folks just wanted him to play – All those he served remember
him warmheartedly.
I believe I inherited my love for writing as well as
my love for music from my dad. He was
known to write poetry once in a while and he loved to read for knowledge. He used to just sit and read
encyclopedias. When I was in high school
he would occasionally have me assist him with the composing of a business
letter or correspondence. My father was
“the world’s greatest piano tuner”
and a man who loved the Lord, his wife of almost 64 years and his family. My tears are selfish for I know he is in a
better place; now possessing all the answers to those questions, praising the
Lord and suffering no more. Dad’s
favorite scripture was John 14 – I
encourage you to read it. He once told
me that all we need to really know is right there. He loved the Ten Commandments and explained
that if all people would just obey those – there’d be no problems. (A simple statement; just not the true nature
of man…)
I remember many times when I was young hearing my dad
play the piano to entertain self or others or just because it felt good to
play. One night I came down the stairs
and there he sat in his chair just reading his Bible in a dimly lit room. Dad wasn’t perfect but he always stood tall
in my eyes. He was a man of strict
authority as he raised us kids… he made the statement that we didn’t do the
“things” he did as a young man because he simply didn’t allow us the opportunity.
As I bid my father go to the other side… I told him
that his work here was done and he was free to go and take that step into
eternity. He no longer had promises to
keep – he no longer had miles to go before sleep… My father is now experiencing
true freedom and peace… We celebrated Dad’s
passing as the family all sang one of his favorite songs – “This
World is Not My Home.” As
children of the King we are all just passing through – Heaven is now Dad’s
eternal home -
Mom Joins Daddy.
My mother passed away January 6, 2015. We held her memorial service that following
Sunday. One comment mentioned after the
services, was how each time someone spoke of Mom – they mentioned Dad. It is true they were almost inseparable.
Ours was the typical middleclass family, I
suppose. Growing up Mom was home raising
us kids (5 of us) while Dad was working at Owens Corning Fiberglas in Kansas City , KS
Dad wanted to leave the city so we bought a little
place in the middle of the state, Jamestown ,
Missouri Jefferson City hospital
asking her to come to work. Mom was a
Registered Nurse but had not worked in that field for many years. Mom also didn’t drive… She became the nightshift supervising nurse
and Dad would drive her there and back each day.
Mother was known for her trained singing voice (dad
played piano and she sang) throughout the community. She was known for her talent and artistic
ability to crochet anything you might want… she was seamstress of sorts and
made a home for us. OH… as my sons would
tell you, Granny was a great cook! I
would be in trouble if I didn’t mention her beloved dill pickles she canned
each summer.
My sister and I both spoke in remembrance of our mom –
both of us admitted we never understood many things until we both became moms
as well. As children and especially
teenagers most do not appreciate or understand their parents… but as we grow
and mature and BECOME ONE… our hearts and minds begin to reflect and
understand.
Mom and I were closer during those years when I was at
my busiest raising my five sons. Mom was
never a sympathetic woman… but she did sympathize with the struggles I was
dealing with as a woman and mother at that juncture in my life. I remember as a little girl wanting to me a
mommy… like my mommy.
Mom broke her hip when she was 80 and spent several
weeks in rehab. I’d visitor her during
my lunch hour and one day – out of the
blue she told me, “I’m proud of you,
you’ve done a wonderful job raising your boys.” With tears welling up in my eyes, I thanked
her and pointed out to her, “you helped
me mom… you helped me!” No matter
the age, we always seek for that parental approval and pat on back ~ it was one
of those brief-but special moments.
When my dad found out his cancer was advanced and that
he only had days or weeks to live. I’ll
never forget how he sat on the edge of that hospital bed, looked up at me and
said, “I’m ok with this, I know where I’m
going… I’m not looking forward to the pain (he chuckled a bit) but my biggest
regret is leaving that little woman.”
We (us children) didn’t realize how much Mom’s memory
had already been affected by Alzheimer’s, for Daddy had protected her in that
way. With the passing of Dad, we began a
long painful journey, yet there were lessons of love learned. Each of us would probably share a different
memory or story – some good, some funny, many heart-wrenching. A few years back though, when we could still
get Mom up – I would visit and help her take a bath. At first it was extremely
awkward… but then, I realized in my heart, how many times this woman assisted
others. She not only cared for each of
us children but all her patients throughout her nursing years. I realized it was my privilege to lean over
that tub and shampoo my mommy’s hair and gently scrub her back. I painted her finger nails too. Now – this isn’t about me… all my siblings
spent time with Mom caring for her as we watched her slowly slip away from us,
soon to not even know who we were to the point of fear. My oldest brother was Mom’s 24/7 caregiver
and a Marine dedicated to his mission.
When my father slipped into eternity we were all
around his bedside encouraging him and at times singing to him. Four of us five children were at Mom’s side when
she took her final breath. She was a
stubborn woman and the will of her body seemed to hold on to this life. A song she requested years before, to be song
at her funeral, was one I sang to her in the days of her passing. “Lord I’m Coming Home.”
Coming home, coming home,
Nevermore to roam;
Open wide Thine arms of love,
Lord, I’m coming home.
Nevermore to roam;
Open wide Thine arms of love,
Lord, I’m coming home.
My parents were not perfect people, by any means, but
they always tried to instill in us good character qualities such as integrity,
honesty, strong work ethics as well as faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ. They were stern and strict with us kids as
long as we were under their wings… but most of the time fair. We miss them here on earth but we know
without a doubt they are together – singing and playing – with full minds and
new bodies.
We are
not human beings here for a temporary spiritual experience;
we are
spiritual beings here for a temporary human experience.
I think it’s fitting that I close the show each day with the
instrumental tune, written and picked by my youngest son… the title of the
song, “Coming Home.”
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Welcome Home Mom & Dad ~
Thank you for permitting me to share this personal
time with you and thank you for the patience you have allowed me during my
grieving. Don’t hesitate to give me a
call should you have any questions regarding an order or request you’ve mailed
to me in the last couple of month… OR if you just want to visit… for “this
world is not my home” and the journey is quick and short… take time for friends
and loved one… but most important, take time to honor and obey our Creator
God.
CSC Talk Radio
Beth Ann
PO Box 73
California, MO 65018
off: 573-796-2166
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