December 16, 2022 will mark five years since I lost my Mom. It seems like yesterday. Life’s significant events feature time and memories like nothing else. When we celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and honor death anniversaries it makes us look back.

I always say that I am thankful, grateful and blessed. As I remember my Mom, I am truly all of those feelings because I am able to look back on a life filled with an awesome Mom. She was strict, funny and loved each of us. Most importantly, my Mom showed up. She supported our dreams, activities and lifted us up!

She showed up at school to speak with my teachers.
She showed up at my volleyball games, track meets and basketball games.
She showed up doing all of the traditional Mom stuff – cooking, baking and making sure we were fed!

It sounds easy. She did this for all six of her children. Speaking as a Mom of one child, I do not know how she did it. She made it look easy too. She made each one of us feel as though we were her favorite. Oh yeah, and did I mention she also worked. My father and my mother were life-long partners. A marriage built on working side-by-side. It, I am sure, was hard and messy but I was sheltered from all that being the last child of six. As I look at my siblings and my own marriage I see that we chose partners that would show up. That is no mistake.

I was fortunate enough this summer to visit my childhood home. We were traveling to a family gathering in northeast Ohio; and, we had made plans to show our daughter the house I grew up in. We stopped and the owner invited us to enjoy the property. The backyard held so many memories – really a life time of fun with:

My visit to my childhood home - the backyard.

The annual Labor Day Fish Fry
My parents smoking whole ears of corn in the ground – I still can’t replicate that taste
Roasting pigs and throwing huge picnics
Kicking off family reunions that are now bi-annual get-togethers all around the country.

So, as I honor my Mother’s death anniversary on December 16, 2022, I am truly celebrating her. I am celebrating her laugh, her willingness to have fun, her kindness, compassion and love of family, friends and neighbors. I also celebrate Mom each and every single day by showing up for my daughter, my husband and the people that I love.

Mom, I miss you but I know that a part of you lives inside of me and it truly brings a smile to my face.

Think about the people in your life who make you feel happy and loved. Are you creating the feeling of being loved and happy for someone else? Do you show up each and every single day for the people you love?

Sonya Ruff Jarvis is an entrepreneur and Managing Member of Jarvis Consultants LLC. Sonya is a Business & Marketing Consultant; Content Creator & Connection-Maker; Thought Leader & Industry Expert and Book Author & Entrepreneur. Areas of expertise include: Retail; Marketing; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI); and Human Resources. Sonya has been a part of the B2B retail industry for more than 30 years. Interested in Sonya’s books? They can be found on Amazon or get an author autographed copy at www.jarvisconsultants.com.

Let’s talk about your next project and how Jarvis Consultants can support your initiatives; email sonya@jarvisconsultants.com.