Well everyone has put together so many great memories of mom. A huge thanks to each of you for sharing your best memories. It is a strange thing, as Tim mentioned, that the more time moves away from an event, like losing someone close to you, the more the frail human mind tends to forget even some of the most poignant of memories.
When I was born, my mom made me a very special blanket that I dubbed my “blanny”. It was a fluffy white blanket with lace trim and was very soft. I was virtually inseparable from that blanket from the time I was born until about 7 or 8 yrs old, not unlike Linus from “Peanuts”. My blanny was an embodiment of my mother and her love. I don’t know what detergent my mom used to wash our laundry but every time that blanket came out of the dryer, it always smelled the same, like my mom. I eventually wore that blanket out and mom had to wean me from it, or I’d probably end up a wack-job today, even more than I already am. Still, I wish that I had my blanny, just to smell it to try and capture the faint scent of mom again.
I grew very close to both mom and dad through my drowning experience. I remember waking up in the hospital and seeing mom there. Dad had rode with me in the ambulance to the hospital in American Fork, and I remember wanting to see her very badly. She never left my bedside the three days that we we’re there. It was only a few weeks before school was out, so essentially I took the remainder of the year off of school and we had spent a lot of time with each other for the next couple of months. In addition, over the next 10 years I had many doctors appointments to follow up on my recovery, so I got to take many days off from school and mom & dad would take me out to eat and spend special time together.
I had a great love for rollerblading/roller skating when I was growing up. I used to spend hours on a daily basis skating on our street. Mom used to come out and watch me and I’d show her new tricks that I was learning how to do. I think that after the drowning, the falling out of the car, the near hanging, and getting hit by a car, mom was a little over protective of me. It probably scared the crap out of her to watch her “Miracle kid” out there putting his life on the line again, day in and day out on rollerblades. The summer between 8th and 9th grade, I finally talked my mom and dad into letting me play hockey. They let me because, it was no contact roller-hockey. Mom absolutely fell in love with the game and following the summer, they let me play my first season of ice hockey. In my 4 years of hockey, she never missed one game and was at most of my practices too. During that time she was really struggling with fibromyalgia and cold environments we’re painful to her but she was always at the games in her blanket.
Among my favorite memories with mom, are the times that I would go and see her at Clair Optical. Many of you have talked about how cool mom was. Don’t share this with my kids, but I used to sluff school and go to her work to hang out there. She would give me the old grandma Rudd finger shake, but She loved it when we would pop in. I loved taking my friends there, because they would always tell me how cool mom was. I usually tried to make it there for lunch. She would always order some wicked nachos from Cancun Mexican restaurant. To this day, when I go there I order the super nacho.
The last couple years of moms life we’re hard for all of us to bear, but the last six months her old spark was re-ignited. My last favorite memory was during Halloween. She and Jill’s mom went with us to a witch festival. As many of you know, mom loved to go to boutiques. Jason was only 9 months old. It was a very special moment to me to be able to have a night to spend with mom and have her as herself one more time before she passed away.
Thanks for teaching me to enjoy life and not be afraid of going after my dreams, mom. I love and miss you!
Kevan Anderson
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