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Farragut residents salute mothers
Kim Johnson - Thu, May, 8, 2008
“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”
This quote from Abraham Lincoln sums up how many people feel about their own mothers.
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 11, and farragutpress asked several residents, children and mothers alike, to share their Mother’s Day memories or some thoughts on their mothers.
Mona Smith is a Farragut Folklife Museum Committee Member, the author of “From Founders to the Future: A Journey of Faith For First Baptist Concord” and the mother of one son, Daryl.
“He didn’t have any money to buy me anything for Mother’s Day, so he was all the time wrapping up things to give me. One time he wrapped up a rock in a butter-dish and gave it to me. I can still see those little hands,” Mona said.
“Another time he gave me a pink comb.”
“And he used to go out and pick me flowers, maybe a rose that I had really been watching and growing, and he would pick it right off at the very top and bring it in and give it to me. Well how can you get after a little fellow for doing that?” she added.
And the rock?
“It’s tucked away. It’s kept in that butter dish,” Mona said.
“He’s still sweet. He is 36 years old and a very good boy. He just got his P-h-D. and we are very proud of him,” she added.
Mona’s own mother, Mollie Isbell, passed away when Mona was 19 years old, but Mona still has many wonderful memories of her.
“The thing I remember the most about my mother was how much fun she was, and she was a wonderful cook and loved to gather around her table.
“All my friends thought she was cool and they wished they had a mother like her,” she added. “The all loved her strawberry shortcake.”
Chelsey Reimann, town of Farragut’s public relations coordinator, said she regrets she will probably not get to see her mother, Debbie Bason, who lives in Nashville, on Mother’s Day, but her thoughts will definitely be with her.
“In our family we always try to pick out a very special card for special occasions that says just what we really feel. And I think she loves getting our sweet cards as much or more than the gifts.
“My Mom is the most wonderful woman I know. I thank God for her every day and am so blessed to have her as an example of what a woman, wife and mother should be. She is such a great example for my personal life as well as professional.
“She is very hard-working and I have watched her advance in her career during my lifetime. I am also career-oriented and I strive to give my best at work as she always has.
“Although I could probably go on for hours, one of the greatest things about her is that she always stays the same and she is always a source of strength and encouragement in my life, especially as I get older.
“I can’t imagine what I’d do without her,” she added.
Reimann is not alone in the admiration of her mother.
Beth Bledsoe, the oldest child and only daughter of Farragut’s first Mayor Bob Leonard and his wife, Marie, is honored to call Marie mother.
“I would have to say she is probably the best mom anybody could ever, ever hope to have,” Bledsoe said. “She is the epitome of class and grace. She is extremely open-minded and understanding.
“She’s just…Mom.”
“My mom is like my best friend. I can talk to her about anything. I feel extremely blessed to have the parents that I have,” she added.
Marie said one of her favorite Mother’s Day memories is a tradition she shared with her three children.
“When I was younger it was a tradition to wear a red flower or a white flower on Mother’s Day. The red was for a living mother and the white was for a mother who had died.
“We grew our own when they were younger and we wore red flowers and we would send our mothers white flowers,” she said.
Farragut resident Ann Wilson said there are no words to adequately describe how she feels about her mother.
“My mother, Pearlie Cole, is my life-line. She sacrificed so much for my brother and me when we were growing up and I have no doubt in my mind that she would give her life for me.
“She always says she admires my strength and confidence and I do not think she realizes that it came from her,” she added.
Make sure not to forget your mother on Mother’s Day. See page 9 of the business section for local restaurants and their Mother’s Day specials.
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