Remembering My Mother

Last Tuesday morning, my mother passed away. It was sudden and unexpected, and she was only 66 years old. 

My mother and I had a complicated relationship, but I never stopped loving her. She was my mother. 

I have some lovely memories of her that I'll always cherish.

My mother was an amazing cook. Some of my favorite dishes she made were her broccoli cheese soup, lasagna, blueberry muffins, and chocolate chip cookies. In fact, she sent some cookies along with my sister when she and her family came to visit me last summer. They were delicious. 

My mom always made a big deal out of our birthday. My sister and I share a birthday three years apart. Oftentimes, we'd have a party with our family and friends over. Mom always went out of her way to make the day special for us. Now that I'm all grown up, I try to find a friend to do something with on my birthday to carry on the tradition – birthdays should always be celebrated, in my opinion.

Christmas was another day my mom always tried to make extra special. We'd actually put our tree up after Thanksgiving dinner each year. We'd also get a new ornament to hang on the tree each year. She always found the cutest ornaments – each one was something related to my personality or what I liked to do. On Christmas Eve, we always got new Christmas pajamas. These were special traditions I cherish.

My mom was incredibly ambitious! She was almost always taking classes when I was growing up to advance her knowledge and skills in the nursing field. She eventually became a Nurse Practitioner. I know she loved her work and cared about her patients. When I was young, my sister and I would often accompany her to the nursing home where she was the Director of Nursing. We loved socializing with the residents there. I know my mom really cared about the residents there, too. She was often affected when someone in the nursing home passed away. 

My mom instilled a good work ethic, compassion for others, and ambition in me. I'm thankful to her for that. 

I truly hope that she is now at peace. 

You can read her obituary and watch a slideshow of her life here. 

Theresa Kay Koester

November 19, 1957 – July 23, 2024