Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Remembering Mom
May 9, 2006
Larry Polyak, Scoutmaster

Today, in honor of Mother's Day, I'd like to tell you a little bit about my own mother, since you never had the chance to meet her. My Mom was 5' 4" tall for most of her life, although becasue of osteoporosis, she was more like 5' when she passed away in 2003. But she was living proof that you don't have to be tall to get respect. She was a good mother but was she the world's best mother? Absolutely she was! Without a doubt!

Mom was the oldest in a family of eight. Her parents had come to America from Austria with little more than the clothes on their back. As the oldest, she was expected to help raise and care for her younger brothers and sisters. She grew up during the great depression, but was even poorer than most. When she was a child, she never owned or rode a bike, never owned a doll or fancy clothes. She went swimming exactly once... when she was a little older and working as a nanny for a more well to do family... a story she told countless times afterward. When her school class walked to the local theatre for a field trip to the movies, she had to quietly leave the line and walk home by herself because she did not have the nickel that it cost for the movie.

She told stories of going to the park to be with her friends, but having to bring her little sister along in a stroller. If she was resentful, she never showed it. But she brought the same love, caring, and nuturing to her own family. I am her youngest of four children, and was often referred to as her "baby". That was a title I never outgrew.

She always put her own needs second, her children were always first. She never had a job outside the home, although she helped my father with his business by answering the phone and doing the bookkeeping and payroll. One of the fondest memories I have is of coming in from outside during the cold snowy Illinois winters, knowing that Mom would be there, ready with a cup of hot chocolate. She raised four children, yet never hired a babysitter. I guess there was nowhere she'd rather be than at home with her children.

One of the talents she was most proud of was her penmanship. She had learned what they called "The Palmer Method" of writing in grade school, and she excelled at it. Everytime she wrote a note, or signed a check, you could see a bit of pride on her face as she viewed her little work of art. She also taught herself to crochet, and made numerous beautiful afghans and scarves for her family and friends. Sometimes she worked until her fingers became raw and could no longer hold the needles. People told her she should sell her creations, but she wouldn't hear of it. There was too much love in each one to put a price on them.

Mom is here today, probably somewhere near the back of the room, and probably whispering to the angel next to her... "That's my baby, the Scoutmaster.".

Thanks for listening.