Laurel Ann Madsen

Mom always told me how much she loved my blog so I figured I better update it.

Last Monday (7-12-2010) was a great day for me. I was so productive. I got my entire house cleaned, all the laundry done and put away, grocery shopping done and even got bread made! I was doing great.
I call Mom everyday. Its just nice to reconnect with her, make sure she doesn’t need me to call anyone to help her and share any sweet things about the girls. When I called her on Monday, my Aunt Janae answered the phone and said she was getting a iv line and pain pump put it, that she wasn’t doing very well. I knew she had been really sick, she hadn’t been able to talk for a few days, yet like every time before, I knew she would bounce back. That is, until Dad called me at 10:30 as I was going to bed. Josh and I had had a petty argument, and I was pouting when Dad called. He said that it looked like the end for Mom, that her hands and feet had started to turn blue. This was only the second time he had said she was close to the end. I felt so sick for being petty. I started packing to go out to Utah right then. Somehow, I knew that this was the end. An hour later Tyler called and told me she had passed. I cried, I felt sad, but I also felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I feel so grateful that I had her to talk to after Aurora was born. It had felt like borrowed time.
I know my Mom is still with me. That she is watching out for me and my family. The Lord gave me the greatest Mother a girl could get. She loved to have adventures, read stories, soak you in a water fight, teach me about anything and everything. She instilled in me a sense of community, a loyalty to God, country and freedom. She taught me that family is the greatest pleasure in this life and monetary items are fleeting.
One of the last conversations we had, I was having a hard day with the girls. Rora has been teething and had kept me up, Kira had a couple temper tantrums, etc, etc. I was talking to her as I cleaned the kitchen and I asked her how or if I should tell Josh that when he scrapes the leftover food into a container that he misses a servings worth. It was so irritating to me to throw away food. Mom had a smile in her voice as she told me how grateful she was that Josh was so good to me. That he doesn’t complain when I ask him to help, what a wonderful father and husband he is. At the end of that conversation, she left me feeling so blessed for all the gifts that the Lord has given me. Blessed that my children are whole and heathy, that my husband loves me, my children and the Lord with all his heart and will do anything for us. Blessed that I can clean the kitchen, that I can cook food to be wasted. That was just Mom. She could put your life back into perspective without making you feel guilty for getting blindsided by the small things. The next day when Josh missed a serving a jambalaya after dinner, I smiled because of what Mom had said.
She left such a wonderful legacy. One day, I hope to be half of what my Mother is. I know that if I were stuck in a bed, after three years I wouldn’t be as happy as she was. She has so much faith. I know that she is now rejoicing in Heaven with our Savior. Marveling over the wonders of the universe and smiling down on her time here on earth.
I will miss my Mom until we are reunited in Heaven, until then I will live everyday trying to live up to the person she saw in me.
Till we meet again!
I love you Mom!