OH FERN

​My Mom passed away on August 10th. I have been spending time with my family while we planned her funeral and took care of arrangements. I stayed away from my work and all social media during this time as I cocooned in my place of safety. (See tip of the week below.)

I appreciate your kind thoughts and condolences, as well as your patience as I process this deep loss.

To honor my Mom, I am sharing with you a writing I wrote in 2013 when The Fernster was 82. She was 88 years, 2 months, and 19 days old when she passed. Looking at all the photographs from her life my amazement, respect and love for my Mom has grown to an even higher level than when I wrote this piece.

You all knew the Fernster as I brought her into your lives through my writings, sharing pictures, and videos of her. 
Please join me in celebrating the woman who brought me into this world and taught me so much about life!

Blessings,
     Pennie

​OH FERN

​I can still hear my Dad say,
“Oh, Fern,”
as she began one of her stories.

He called her Fernie Annie. 
Her nickname is The Fernster. 
Elsie Fern Tutewiler Hunt - yes, that is her name. To me she is Mom and yet, she is more than any of those names.   

Growing up I remember her as the family organizer, the child wrangler, the disciplinarian, and the choreographer of our life. 

She was a working Mom when most were home watching soap operas and creating meals from the Betty Crocker Cook Book.  She worked hard and expected the same from others.  

Thinking about the Fernster, I began to wonder who she was before me, before the years of motherhood and responsibility wrapped around her.

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I looked at some pictures of her in younger days.  I saw the impish smile of a child and imagined her laugh.  I saw the hair of a young woman flow around her physical presence - self-assured, happy and carefree.  
​
I realized that stepping back from the Mom I've always loved I could look deeper to see a whole person. Years before her title of Mom, there was a woman filled with spirit, determination and dreams, eager to experience this world.    
The Fernster is almost 82 now and slowing down a bit.  Her eyesight a little less focused, her hearing and memory a little muffled, yet her spirit and spunk remain intact.   

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Now I see the whole person wrapped with memories of a life lived, people loved and experiences had.  And yet, the spark of that young woman still burns with spirit, determination and enthusiasm for life ahead.   

The Fernster.
Fernie Annie.
Elsie Fern Tutewiler Hunt. 
Yes, to me she is Mom and yet, she is more than any of those names.  I value her not only as Mom, but as a whole person she is. 
I love her so -- the person she was before me and the person she is today with me.

Oh Fern, keep telling those stories. 
                     ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Pennie's Life Lesson:
                       “Step back to see the ones you   
                             love  as a whole person!”
                 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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The Fernster loved to take selfies with me. This was our last one - taken July 13, 2019.

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Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
                [email protected]. 
                          Thank you!  
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                               All Rights Reserved
                 Copyright © 2013-2019 Pennie Hunt
         This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
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