Bushes by the Beach: Day Five and Mother's Day
The fifth and final day of our Bushbunch reunion was a beautiful Sunday. We drove into Ventura where we attended church at a local LDS ward's sacrament meeting and then caravaned back to the beach house for a surprise Mother's Day Program that Cassie organized to honor our sweet mother.
We decorated the upstairs living room with the same darling banner and pinwheels I had borrowed from Shannon for our family pictures in April. I was able to rearrange some of the letters to spell "Cathy" which we hung in front of a sheet that was later used for a live "slide show". When they brought Mom out, the grandchildren all gathered in front of her with flowers and sang the primary song "I Often Go Walking" but they changed the words from mother to grandmother. At the very end when it says, "Dear Grandma, all flowers remind me of you" they then each handed her their flowers to create a beautiful spring bouquet. Let's just take a moment to observe the above photo where you can see all the kids singing so sweetly about the beautiful flowers and the....machine gun? Check out Caleb (right corner) holding his flower like a weapon. Cracked me up!
Mumsie loved to dress all 8 of us children in sailor suits as a salute to her favorite movie, "The Sound of Music"
Unbeknownst to Mama, we had secretly been collecting props through Dad so we could each pose for a "picture in time" with clothing and items that remind us of our wonderful Mumsie and all her great qualities and quirks. Elijah was such a good sport about being the narrator and the rest of us took turns running behind the curtain and changing into a variety of costumes. Elijah introduced the idea by saying something like, "If a picture says a thousand words...picture this!"
Each photo attempted to portray a different aspect about our beloved mother: her enthusiasm, spirituality, tender nurturing, generous heart, silliness/fun, etc. We all laughed about gunny sack, the barfy bowl, brownies, the traveling gnome, pillows, pillows and more pillows!
Following our slide show, we migrated to a room with a TV so we could watch a slideshow my sister Chelsea had contributed from around the globe in Singapore. She did a phenomenal job as evidenced by the bawling room of cry babies!
Who knew 3 minutes and 45 seconds could sum up so beautifully a joyful life lived in the service of others. I just watched it again and had to cry all over again. How I love you Mama! Thank you for being, as the song said, "a waiter, and a cook and a taxi driver for 25 years there at home, until one day your babes were grown!" You're somebody's hero Mom...mine!
Here's the youtube link to Chelsea's sweet video if you care to get a glimpse at a life well lived.
All too soon the program was over and it was time to clean up the house, pack the bags in the cars, give one last round of hugs and kisses and drive home.
Thank you Elijah and Marinda for such a fantastic family reunion! We absolutely loved it and we will certainly cherish the memories of time with all you dear loved ones. Can't wait until we're all together again soon!
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