Happy AND Mother's Day...by Gina Waite

If I could describe my Mom in one word, it would be "FUN!"  Oh she was fun....and she had the BEST laugh too!  Most especially when my brother Ryan, would get her giggling!  That boy could get her to laugh harder than all the rest of us put together!  ...And to hear her laugh...the modulated sound of her silvery tones with intermittent soft screams of delight...is truly one of the most precious and cherished sounds since my Mother's departure into the Spirit World this past November!   With Mother's Day around the corner...(men this is a subtle hint for you that the time is NOW) and my thoughts filled with memories of my Mom, I'd like to share one of my favorite, FUN memories of my very Fun Mom!

My Mom was always involved in what her children were doing!  She was a regular volunteer at the school and in our church youth groups!  Always being willing to jump in and have FUN, my Mom agreed to participate with the church youth group in a scavenger hunt.  The object of the hunt was to find items, and people, that were compiled on a list within a certain time constraint and boundary of the shops within The Grand Teton Mall!  The quaint and useful mall, is not oversized and could easily be combed through in an hour's time to find a particular person...that is IF the person in not dressed INCOGNITO and completely unrecognizable to the youth group trying to find them!

Do you remember the hit sitcom, "Mama's Family?"  If you are not familiar with it you must pull it up on YouTube and watch an episode...or two!    My Mom, most well-known enthusiast for  "Mama's Family" decided, as one of the appointed persons being sought after for the scavenger hunt,  it would be FUN to dress up as actress Vicki Lawrence's character, "Mama," and sit under a hair dryer at the Mall's Regis hair salon!  I'm certain my Mom felt her disguise would be infallible...and it very nearly was!  

Harder to identify than a "needle in a haystack" my Mom duped just about everyone, including the president of the girl's youth group, and for nearly the entirety of the scavenger hunt...she even decieved her own daughter!  Imagine the arrogance I felt when I read scavenger hunt item #12 - find Marlene Terry!  "Of course I will find her," I scoffed to myself quickly making way to the Mall shops that were my Mom's favorites!  After 50 minutes of searching, and having found the rest of the items/people on my scavenger list...I walked aimlessly through the Mall, completed deflated,  looking for a face I knew as well as my own!  My Mom had me completely baffled...that is until the last five minutes of the search!

Willing to admit defeat, I walked into Regis Hair Salon to talk with a most beloved sister, Angie, who worked as a stylist there!  To my great shock and surprise...an older lady sitting near me and under the hair dryer was a complete doppelganger for "Mama" on "Mama's Family!"  Complete with gray hair, purse in hand and rolled-down-below-the-knee, Knee-High's, this gal could have persuaded Sherlock Holmes himself into believing that "Mama" truly existed...and existed in the Idaho Falls Regis hair salon!  As I eyed this would-be impostor more closely, I remember meeting my Mom's eyes with my own!  As the recognition of the idenitity of those beautiful brown eyes behind the round, silver-rimmed glasses showed on my face...I screamed out in delight and ran to my mom in "Mama's" Clothing!  I still laugh out loud at the memory of that day and the sheer brilliance of her idea!  Scavenger Hunt item #12 - find Marlene Terry....check!  Now, just sitting here, writing this memoir...I desperately wish I could go find my Mom there again! 

The great effort my Mom ALWAYS put into everything made life more special, memorable...but most of all...FUN, has inspired me to wipe away my tears, have some FUN and do something unexpected...and incognito!  This Mother's Day video "Happy" is dedicated to my Mom!  A girl who loved life, had lot's of FUN and made Happy memories because of it!   I love you Mom!!!!!!!



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