Mom Went to See Jesus, 12-27-2000 & Snow Photographs, 12-27-2022 (published 12-27-2022; article #382)

Introduction

At 3:06 PM, as I begin to write, the sun is shining brightly. The temperature is 41 Fahrenheit (5 Celsius). The snow (about an inch or 2.54 centimeters), which had fallen late yesterday afternoon and through the night, has melted, except in the shady areas. Molly (our ol' puppy) is now outside mostly or in her basement condominium. She's no longer an indoor doggy, staying on the couch, in hibernation mode. The four days of winter (12/23-26/2022), with highs not above freezing, are over. Spring in winter is resuming.

Mrs. Appalachian Irishman is visiting her folks. (Her youngest sister returns to “Nashvegas” later today.) I had not planned to write this article, but I decided to do so.

Mom Went to See Jesus, 12/27/2000

I re-read several articles that I've published, around this time of the year, about Mom (Betty Lou Wood Ferrell, 11/24/1932 - 12/27/2000). My brief article, of 12/27/2010, is one of my favorites. The article, in its entirety, is:

Ten Years Ago Today (published 12-27-2010)

Ten years ago today, at 5:15 PM, Mom went to be with Jesus. She was the best mother that I could have ever had. Taken at only 68 years old, Mom could still be alive today, touching the lives of family and friends in her unique way. Mom’s absence has been felt strongly these past ten years.

Mom, I miss you, but I know that you are in a far better place. Tell everyone, Granny, Papaw, Uncle Bobby, Dad, and so many others, that I will see them someday. Life goes on here, until we are all reunited there.

I love you, Mom, bunches and bunches!

See Happy Birthday, Mom (published 11-24-2009).

My 11/24/2009 article – “Happy Birthday, Mom,” to which my 12/27/2010 article links – is probably my favorite article that I've written about Mom. Every time that I re-read the article, tears swell up in my eyes, but I do not cry.

At 5:15 PM today – as I have done on every December 27th, since 2001, I will pause, be silent a while, and remember.

I still miss Mom's made from scratch, homemade biscuits and her rice crispy Christmas wreath – symbols of her love. I have known many genuine Christians. I try to be one. Mom was and is the most genuine Christian that I have ever known.

Twenty-two years have passed, since Mom went to see Jesus. The memory of Mom's loss is with me daily, especially on December 27th every year. The loss has become easier to place into the everlasting mindset.

The family circle will be unbroken. I'm just trying to do my best to serve God, such as I can and as He allows me, until it's my turn to join the family circle.

Snow Photographs, 12/27/2022

The weather was cloudy and very cold, on Wednesday, December 27, 2000. We had about the same weather, maybe a little warmer, this morning (Tuesday, 12/27/2022). I took the two photographs (below) about 10 AM.

The view is looking southwest. The back yards of several neighbors, in the photograph, are to the west. Can you see Molly's footprints in the snow? Earlier, she had gone outside to “Molly doggy around.” She didn't stay out long. She liked the warm couch better.

This is Molly, in “doggy partial hibernation mode,” taking it easy on the couch! The old sheet mostly covers the leather couch. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman was taking a shower. Molly had been sleeping, and she still looks sleepy, in the photograph.

Don't worry! Once the temperature warmed up more, and the sun came out, Molly went back to being a mostly outside, during the day, doggy! Her doggy door is set, so she can come into her basement condominium as she desires.

Conclusion

I trust that the TVA rolling blackouts, about which I wrote on Christmas Eve, did not harm anyone that has to use oxygen tanks that don't have battery backups. Mom had oxygen tanks, during her final days at home. I'm glad that the homeplace didn't have any rolling blackouts then.

By the way, I learned that the Christmas Eve football game, on the Tennessee Titans ( or “Tin Cans”) home field, was delayed by an hour, due to the rolling blackouts. The Texans beat the “Tin Cans” 19 to 14. TVA had advised us to conserve energy, turn off unnecessary lights, not do laundry, etc., but the lights at Titan stadium shined brightly. What hypocrites!

The time, at this typing, is 4:06 PM. I hear Molly barking in the back yard. I think that I'll go outside and have some fun with Molly.

Don't worry. I'll be back inside. At 5:15 PM, I will pause, be silent a while, and remember. Mom, I still love you bunches and bunches! I will see you again, once I join you.