A week on your mountain – v2 #Sugarloaf

years melted away,
a week on your mountain,
just up from the Blue Ox,
spending time together,
as one, a family…
 
skiing together,
old ways so familiar,
smelling the wax,
heading for the slopes,
one more time…
 
--------------------
Edited February 14, 2024
A week on your mountain – v2
 
&
Edited February 8, 2024
A Clear Day – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-clear-day-v2.html
Edited February 8, 2024
Like tears in rain – v4
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/02/like-tears-in-rain-v4.html
February 8, 2024
A Clear Day
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-clear-day.html
About the Sunday before Mom passed on Friday
(see highlighted notes below)
and after reading the poem, “Alzheimer’s”
by Anthony Walton
&
Edited June 28, 2022
Like tears in rain – v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/06/like-tears-in-rain-v3.html
Edited June 27, 2022
Like tears in rain – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/06/like-tears-im-rain-v2.html
Edited June 26, 2022
Like tears in rain
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/06/like-tears-in-rain.html
Edited June 25, 2022
Like tears in the rain – v2
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/06/like-tears-in-rain-v2.html
June 25, 2022
(Like) Tears in the rain
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/06/tears-in-rain.html
&
edited March 13, 2015
Struggle – v3
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/03/struggle-v3.html
edited November 27, 2014
Struggle – v2
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2014/11/struggle-v2.html
Thanksgiving Day
August 18, 2004 21:53
Struggle
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2004/08/struggle.html
&
Edited January 14, 2024
Dripping with memory – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2024/01/dripping-with-memory-v2.html
January 19, 2022
Dripping with memory
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/01/dripping-with-memory.html
&
January 11, 2022
Older than dad ever was
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/01/older-than-dad-ever-was.html
January 4, 2022
just before the mandates, the pandemic
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/01/just-before-mandates-pandemic.html
January 10, 2020
Obituary for Patricia Ann Ring Foss Cobb
https://www.cremationsocietyofsc.com/obituaries/Patricia-Cobb-2/#!/Obituary
https://www.eagletimes.com/obituaries/patricia-a-ring-foss-cobb/article_648ce713-d56b-541f-b6c2-ba2932501331.html
January 25, 2020
my Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/raymond.a.foss/posts/10157231482093003
So blessed to be able to attend and participate in the Celebration of Life for mom today at Grace River. I cannot express how much I appreciate the love and caring shown by those who attended and/or those who sent flowers, thoughts, and prayers to our family over the last two weeks.
Here are my notes for my time of sharing - for Celebration of Life of Patricia Ann Ring Foss Cobb:
Good morning, thank you for coming, for showing us all your love for Mom and for us all by being here today. For those who don’t know me, I’m Ray, mom and dad’s oldest. When I came along on April Fool’s Day 1960, Mom was twenty-five. A fact that was really problematic when I myself was twenty-five, because that meant mom was FIFTY…
I am definitely Mom and Dad’s son – analytical like dad (wanting to do it right), but I start tasks like mom (want it done)… Unfortunately that means (for me), that I am great at starting things, but not so good at finishing (sort of like the custom kitchen cabinets that dad started building for mom in the kitchen that weren’t done until shortly before we moved…).
When I got the call from Sandy and Becky that Mom had gone home to heaven two weeks ago today at about midnight, I was sad that she was gone but I was so joyful for the end of this journey for mom, just as I had been for Grammy Ring.
I was so happy for the clear day that God had gifted us the prior Sunday when I got to talk with mom twice, saying I love you and her saying I love you, how Sandy and I made a joyful noise singing Jesus Loves Me to her. She said a strong “Yes” when we talked a second time that she knew she was a child of God, that she was ready to go home to heaven, that she knew God the Father, Jesus, and all her loved ones who had gone before were waiting to greet her home.
Mom was the first one who loved me, who taught me about God and Jesus. She was active in her faith. My first memory of that was in the Methodist church in Westfield, at some young adults youth group or something. After we moved to Second Congregational, she was active there too. I never doubted her love for me, her encouraging me all throughout my life, and I always knew just how strong her depth of faith was, how important God and Christ were in her life.
She was my first teacher, the one who taught me to love books, who pushed me to do more in school. She was my typist too, before I learned to type. I don’t know how many times she and I were up late or up early working on a school paper I pushed to the last minute.
Mom was my constant in my life. She was the homeroom parent when I went to Abner Gibbs School. Years later she laughed in sharing with me that I called her Mrs. Foss when she was at school and mom when she was at home. I guess I needed both of them.
One special thing we shared, started with my Sunday School and Grammy Foss was May Day baskets. On May 1 every year for 55 years, I would give mom a May Day basket. In the early years on Squawfield Road, they would be maple tree flowers, tulips and dandelions. One year, when she was working for Dave, her “basket” was faxed to her at Communication Connections.
More than her faith, if that is possible, family was everything to mom, something that the Ring family certainly taught her. The connection was so real, the love and joy so palpable, even when we were all crammed into their small dining room as the family grew. That was so special.
Like everything, mom didn’t do things halfway. She worked hard in everything she did. That was something she learned from her mom and dad too. When Grampa got done with the YMCA in Westfield, they replaced him with three people.
Like Grammy Foss, who was known as the Cookie Lady in Springfield, mom cared for others, offering her life to share love with others, starting with family, through her faith life, and continuing as a CNA after she cared for Grammy Ring.
One story about her wanting things done… I came home from YMCA Camp Shepard in Westfield one summer day to find mom and Grampa Ring, one with a crowbar and one with a pry-bar, getting ready to take down the outside wall between the kitchen and the porch. Dad, if memory serves, came in to have it done his way. And I remember the work to do the transition between the floors of the kitchen and the porch (because they didn’t match).
Mom always showed her love in so many ways. In 1969, I had to have knee surgery. She was there with me throughout the three months I was at home in my full-length cast. She even took me around for trick or treat for UNICEF, because I wasn’t going to go out at night for regular trick or treating. The only downside was that the TV and my chair were in the same room, so I watched her soap operas too.
I left home at 18 years old in 1978 to go to UNH. I remember leaving mom and dad almost at the curb when I checked into my dorm, Gibbs Hall. They had taught me and had given me wings. I was ready to fly.
I went home in summer of 1979 and worked at Holsum Bakery on the roll oven. That was the last time I lived at home. I worked crazy hours and I’m sure I must have been a grumpy older brother to Matt and Becky, as the tv room was next to my bedroom.
Mom taught me civic mindedness, something that led me to student government at UNH, to working with and for non-profits through my work life and running for the School Board. She and I would often talk politics, which was always interesting because we often voted differently.
I remember so well mom and dad being Baptized here in the fall of 1990. I was so glad to be here with my siblings to watch that moment, as I was so glad to be here for mom and Richard’s wedding fifteen years after dad died.
I am so joyful for the way God gifted all of us for the time in January 1991, after Sandy and Peter and family were gifted time that Christmas, with mom and dad at Sugarloaf. We all got to be together sharing skiing and family time on that mountain dad loved. I remember so well mom posing for pictures in her outfit that fit her so well. And I so remember the last time I saw mom and dad together, when all of the rest of us headed home. They stayed an extra day at Sugarloaf Inn. The last image I have of them was mom and dad like a pair of teenage lovers skiing off together with smiles on their faces.
Mom and I returned to Sugarloaf March 2, 2001, to spreading dad’s ashes there. We spoke aloud her name and the names of all of us children as we released his remains to the mountain and to the wind.
And, Mom, we will be going back to that mountain later this year to spread yours remains there too, joining your physical body with dad’s, just as you today are at home in heaven with him and all of our loved ones who passed before you did.
&
edited February 20, 2021
A perfect week – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week-v2.html
merged, edited February 20, 2021
In the arms of the mountain – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain-v2.html
February 20, 2021
in the arms of the mountain
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain.html
February 20, 2021
A week on your mountain
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-week-on-your-mountain.html
February 20, 2021
A perfect week
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week.html
&
June 17, 2018
It seems like yesterday
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2018/06/it-seems-like-yesterday.html
Fathers’ Day
about our ski trip together January 1991
before my father’s black ice fatal accident
Valentine’s Day – February 14, 1991
 
 
All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)  for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
 
Sugarloaf, Maine, poem, poetry, skiing, father, God, love, memories, mountain, Nature, Poetry Where You Live, snow, winter, mile marker 19, family, Valentine’s Day,
 
#Sugarloaf #Maine #skiing #poem #poetry #father #God #hope #love #memories #mountain #Nature #snow #wind #winter #ashes #family #son #mother #wife #husband #ValentinesDay
 
---------------
 
poetry, God, Alzheimers, Blade Runner, legacy, faith, Spirit, soul, time, memories, life, immortality, eternal, struggle, dementia, disease, Alzheimer, Alzheimer’s Disease,
 
#poetry #God #Alzheimers #bladerunner #legacy #faith #Spirit #soul #time #memories #life #immortality #eternal #struggle #dementia #disease #Alzheimer #alzheimersdisease

Dripping with memory – v2

A moment fleeting,
gone in an instant,
dripping with memory
now more than 30 years distant
yet as close as breath.
 
Just as they were,
when they were dating
30 some years earlier
almost forgetting all of us
at our leave taking.
 
A treasured moment,
because none of us were aware
of the future before us
how he would be gone
in one month, so soon.
 
--------------------
Edited January 14, 2024
Dripping with memory – v2
 
January 19, 2022
Dripping with memory
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/01/dripping-with-memory.html
&
January 11, 2022
Older than dad ever was
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/01/older-than-dad-ever-was.html
January 4, 2022
just before the mandates, the pandemic
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/01/just-before-mandates-pandemic.html
January 10, 2020
Obituary for Patricia Ann Ring Foss Cobb
https://www.cremationsocietyofsc.com/obituaries/Patricia-Cobb-2/#!/Obituary
https://www.eagletimes.com/obituaries/patricia-a-ring-foss-cobb/article_648ce713-d56b-541f-b6c2-ba2932501331.html
January 25, 2020
my Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/raymond.a.foss/posts/10157231482093003
So blessed to be able to attend and participate in the Celebration of Life for mom today at Grace River. I cannot express how much I appreciate the love and caring shown by those who attended and/or those who sent flowers, thoughts, and prayers to our family over the last two weeks.
Here are my notes for my time of sharing - for Celebration of Life of Patricia Ann Ring Foss Cobb:
Good morning, thank you for coming, for showing us all your love for Mom and for us all by being here today. For those who don’t know me, I’m Ray, mom and dad’s oldest. When I came along on April Fool’s Day 1960, Mom was twenty-five. A fact that was really problematic when I myself was twenty-five, because that meant mom was FIFTY…
I am definitely Mom and Dad’s son – analytical like dad (wanting to do it right), but I start tasks like mom (want it done)… Unfortunately that means (for me), that I am great at starting things, but not so good at finishing (sort of like the custom kitchen cabinets that dad started building for mom in the kitchen that weren’t done until shortly before we moved…).
When I got the call from Sandy and Becky that Mom had gone home to heaven two weeks ago today at about midnight, I was sad that she was gone but I was so joyful for the end of this journey for mom, just as I had been for Grammy Ring.
I was so happy for the clear day that God had gifted us the prior Sunday when I got to talk with mom twice, saying I love you and her saying I love you, how Sandy and I made a joyful noise singing Jesus Loves Me to her. She said a strong “Yes” when we talked a second time that she knew she was a child of God, that she was ready to go home to heaven, that she knew God the Father, Jesus, and all her loved ones who had gone before were waiting to greet her home.
Mom was the first one who loved me, who taught me about God and Jesus. She was active in her faith. My first memory of that was in the Methodist church in Westfield, at some young adults youth group or something. After we moved to Second Congregational, she was active there too. I never doubted her love for me, her encouraging me all throughout my life, and I always knew just how strong her depth of faith was, how important God and Christ were in her life.
She was my first teacher, the one who taught me to love books, who pushed me to do more in school. She was my typist too, before I learned to type. I don’t know how many times she and I were up late or up early working on a school paper I pushed to the last minute.
Mom was my constant in my life. She was the homeroom parent when I went to Abner Gibbs School. Years later she laughed in sharing with me that I called her Mrs. Foss when she was at school and mom when she was at home. I guess I needed both of them.
One special thing we shared, started with my Sunday School and Grammy Foss was May Day baskets. On May 1 every year for 55 years, I would give mom a May Day basket. In the early years on Squawfield Road, they would be maple tree flowers, tulips and dandelions. One year, when she was working for Dave, her “basket” was faxed to her at Communication Connections.
More than her faith, if that is possible, family was everything to mom, something that the Ring family certainly taught her. The connection was so real, the love and joy so palpable, even when we were all crammed into their small dining room as the family grew. That was so special.
Like everything, mom didn’t do things halfway. She worked hard in everything she did. That was something she learned from her mom and dad too. When Grampa got done with the YMCA in Westfield, they replaced him with three people.
Like Grammy Foss, who was known as the Cookie Lady in Springfield, mom cared for others, offering her life to share love with others, starting with family, through her faith life, and continuing as a CNA after she cared for Grammy Ring.
One story about her wanting things done… I came home from YMCA Camp Shepard in Westfield one summer day to find mom and Grampa Ring, one with a crowbar and one with a pry-bar, getting ready to take down the outside wall between the kitchen and the porch. Dad, if memory serves, came in to have it done his way. And I remember the work to do the transition between the floors of the kitchen and the porch (because they didn’t match).
Mom always showed her love in so many ways. In 1969, I had to have knee surgery. She was there with me throughout the three months I was at home in my full-length cast. She even took me around for trick or treat for UNICEF, because I wasn’t going to go out at night for regular trick or treating. The only downside was that the TV and my chair were in the same room, so I watched her soap operas too.
I left home at 18 years old in 1978 to go to UNH. I remember leaving mom and dad almost at the curb when I checked into my dorm, Gibbs Hall. They had taught me and had given me wings. I was ready to fly.
I went home in summer of 1979 and worked at Holsum Bakery on the roll oven. That was the last time I lived at home. I worked crazy hours and I’m sure I must have been a grumpy older brother to Matt and Becky, as the tv room was next to my bedroom.
Mom taught me civic mindedness, something that led me to student government at UNH, to working with and for non-profits through my work life and running for the School Board. She and I would often talk politics, which was always interesting because we often voted differently.
I remember so well mom and dad being Baptized here in the fall of 1990. I was so glad to be here with my siblings to watch that moment, as I was so glad to be here for mom and Richard’s wedding fifteen years after dad died.
I am so joyful for the way God gifted all of us for the time in January 1991, after Sandy and Peter and family were gifted time that Christmas, with mom and dad at Sugarloaf. We all got to be together sharing skiing and family time on that mountain dad loved. I remember so well mom posing for pictures in her outfit that fit her so well. And I so remember the last time I saw mom and dad together, when all of the rest of us headed home. They stayed an extra day at Sugarloaf Inn. The last image I have of them was mom and dad like a pair of teenage lovers skiing off together with smiles on their faces.
Mom and I returned to Sugarloaf March 2, 2001, to spreading dad’s ashes there. We spoke aloud her name and the names of all of us children as we released his remains to the mountain and to the wind.
And, Mom, we will be going back to that mountain later this year to spread yours remains there too, joining your physical body with dad’s, just as you today are at home in heaven with him and all of our loved ones who passed before you did.
&
edited February 20, 2021
A perfect week – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week-v2.html
merged, edited February 20, 2021
In the arms of the mountain – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain-v2.html
February 20, 2021
in the arms of the mountain
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain.html
February 20, 2021
A week on your mountain
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-week-on-your-mountain.html
February 20, 2021
A perfect week
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week.html
&
June 17, 2018
It seems like yesterday
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2018/06/it-seems-like-yesterday.html
Fathers’ Day
about our ski trip together January 1991
before my father’s black ice fatal accident
Valentine’s Day – February 14, 1991
 
 
All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)  for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
 
Sugarloaf, Maine, poem, poetry, skiing, father, God, love, memories, mountain, Nature, Poetry Where You Live, snow, winter, mile marker 19, family,
 
#Sugarloaf #Maine #skiing #poem #poetry #father #God #hope #love #memories #mountain #Nature #snow #wind #winter #ashes #family #son #mother #wife #husband

the forest evoking memories - v6

A torrent of emotions, of feelings
a cascade of images, of memory
smells of the lodges, cold air,
tastes even, of hot chocolate, of chili,
something tangible,
rich with love, with family,
seeing the snow on the branches
the deep green of the pines and the white
as we drive by, northward, homeward.
 
The forest evoking memories
of forty, of fifty years ago,
when we went skiing as a family,
joy in that time spent together,
so much memory, in those moments,
the long drives, the fresh fallen snow,
the firsts to touch the fresh powder,
Oh, how Dad was focused just so…
 
Wanting to carve the fresh powder,
to cling to our edges on the boilerplate
needing to leave so early,
so many miles to go,
heading for the slopes
sometimes sleeping in the car
so much memory, excitement,
the smell of the hot wax, the klister,
the jockeying in the main lodge.
 
Burning my mouth on piping-hot chocolate,
eating Colombo blueberry or peach yogurts,
music overhead, “My Sweet Lord”, and so many others,
the wood fires, the feeling, the taste of saltines in my chili,
riding the lifts as a “single!”, jumping the lines,
climbing up into the forests, on the chairlifts,
covered with white, with snow,
before the start of each run.
 
---------- 
Edited January 6, 2024
the forest evoking memories – v6
 
after talking to customer today about going on our wild ski vacation
to Vail, Colorado, Thanksgiving 1971
&
edited March 6, 2021
the forest evoking memories – v5
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-forest-evoking-memories-v5.html
edited March 5, 2021
the forest evoking memories – v4
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-forest-evoking-memories-v4.html
edited February 20, 2021
A perfect week – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week-v2.html
merged, edited February 20, 2021
In the arms of the mountain – v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain-v2.html
February 20, 2021
in the arms of the mountain
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain.html
February 20, 2021
A week on your mountain
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-week-on-your-mountain.html
February 20, 2021
A perfect week
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week.html
&
June 17, 2018
It seems like yesterday
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2018/06/it-seems-like-yesterday.html
Fathers’ Day
about our ski trip together January 1991
before my father’s black ice fatal accident
Valentine’s Day – February 14, 1991
&
edited February 4, 2021
the forest evoking memories - v3
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-forest-evoking-memories-v3.html
edited February 4, 2021
the forest evoking memories - v2
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-forest-evoking-memories-v2.html  
edited February 4, 2021
the forest evoking memories
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/editedfebruary-4-2021-theforest-evoking.html
February 3, 2021
the forest evoking memory
https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-forest-evoking-memory.html
 
 
All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)  for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.
 
Sugarloaf, Maine, poem, poetry, skiing, father, God, love, memories, mountain, Nature, snow, winter, family, Vail,
 
#Sugarloaf  @SugarloafMaine #Maine #skiing #poem #poetry #father #God #hope #love #memories #mountain #Nature #snow #wind #winter #family #Vail,

Dripping with memory

Dripping with memory

 

a fleeting with memory

gone in an instant

dripping with memory

now 30 years distant.

 

as they were

when they were dating

30 years earlier

almost forgetting us

at our leave taking.

 

none of us aware

of the future before us

how he would be gone

only one month later.

 

--------------------

January 18, 2022

Dripping with memory

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/01/dripping-with-memory.html

&

January 11, 2022

Older than dad ever was

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/01/older-than-dad-ever-was.html

January 4, 2022

just before the mandates, the pandemic

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2022/01/just-before-mandates-pandemic.html

January 10, 2020

Obituary for Patricia Ann Ring Foss Cobb

https://www.cremationsocietyofsc.com/obituaries/Patricia-Cobb-2/#!/Obituary

https://www.eagletimes.com/obituaries/patricia-a-ring-foss-cobb/article_648ce713-d56b-541f-b6c2-ba2932501331.html

January 25, 2020

my Facebook post:

https://www.facebook.com/raymond.a.foss/posts/10157231482093003

So blessed to be able to attend and participate in the Celebration of Life for mom today at Grace River. I cannot express how much I appreciate the love and caring shown by those who attended and/or those who sent flowers, thoughts, and prayers to our family over the last two weeks.

Here are my notes for my time of sharing - for Celebration of Life of Patricia Ann Ring Foss Cobb:

Good morning, thank you for coming, for showing us all your love for Mom and for us all by being here today. For those who don’t know me, I’m Ray, mom and dad’s oldest. When I came along on April Fool’s Day 1960, Mom was twenty-five. A fact that was really problematic when I myself was twenty-five, because that meant mom was FIFTY…

I am definitely Mom and Dad’s son – analytical like dad (wanting to do it right), but I start tasks like mom (want it done)… Unfortunately that means (for me), that I am great at starting things, but not so good at finishing (sort of like the custom kitchen cabinets that dad started building for mom in the kitchen that weren’t done until shortly before we moved…).

When I got the call from Sandy and Becky that Mom had gone home to heaven two weeks ago today at about midnight, I was sad that she was gone but I was so joyful for the end of this journey for mom, just as I had been for Grammy Ring.

I was so happy for the clear day that God had gifted us the prior Sunday when I got to talk with mom twice, saying I love you and her saying I love you, how Sandy and I made a joyful noise singing Jesus Loves Me to her. She said a strong “Yes” when we talked a second time that she knew she was a child of God, that she was ready to go home to heaven, that she knew God the Father, Jesus, and all her loved ones who had gone before were waiting to greet her home.

Mom was the first one who loved me, who taught me about God and Jesus. She was active in her faith. My first memory of that was in the Methodist church in Westfield, at some young adults youth group or something. After we moved to Second Congregational, she was active there too. I never doubted her love for me, her encouraging me all throughout my life, and I always knew just how strong her depth of faith was, how important God and Christ were in her life.

She was my first teacher, the one who taught me to love books, who pushed me to do more in school. She was my typist too, before I learned to type. I don’t know how many times she and I were up late or up early working on a school paper I pushed to the last minute.

Mom was my constant in my life. She was the homeroom parent when I went to Abner Gibbs School. Years later she laughed in sharing with me that I called her Mrs. Foss when she was at school and mom when she was at home. I guess I needed both of them.

One special thing we shared, started with my Sunday School and Grammy Foss was May Day baskets. On May 1 every year for 55 years, I would give mom a May Day basket. In the early years on Squawfield Road, they would be maple tree flowers, tulips and dandelions. One year, when she was working for Dave, her “basket” was faxed to her at Communication Connections.

More than her faith, if that is possible, family was everything to mom, something that the Ring family certainly taught her. The connection was so real, the love and joy so palpable, even when we were all crammed into their small dining room as the family grew. That was so special.

Like everything, mom didn’t do things halfway. She worked hard in everything she did. That was something she learned from her mom and dad too. When Grampa got done with the YMCA in Westfield, they replaced him with three people.

Like Grammy Foss, who was known as the Cookie Lady in Springfield, mom cared for others, offering her life to share love with others, starting with family, through her faith life, and continuing as a CNA after she cared for Grammy Ring.

One story about her wanting things done… I came home from YMCA Camp Shepard in Westfield one summer day to find mom and Grampa Ring, one with a crowbar and one with a pry-bar, getting ready to take down the outside wall between the kitchen and the porch. Dad, if memory serves, came in to have it done his way. And I remember the work to do the transition between the floors of the kitchen and the porch (because they didn’t match).

Mom always showed her love in so many ways. In 1969, I had to have knee surgery. She was there with me throughout the three months I was at home in my full-length cast. She even took me around for trick or treat for UNICEF, because I wasn’t going to go out at night for regular trick or treating. The only downside was that the TV and my chair were in the same room, so I watched her soap operas too.

I left home at 18 years old in 1978 to go to UNH. I remember leaving mom and dad almost at the curb when I checked into my dorm, Gibbs Hall. They had taught me and had given me wings. I was ready to fly.

I went home in summer of 1979 and worked at Holsum Bakery on the roll oven. That was the last time I lived at home. I worked crazy hours and I’m sure I must have been a grumpy older brother to Matt and Becky, as the tv room was next to my bedroom.

Mom taught me civic mindedness, something that led me to student government at UNH, to working with and for non-profits through my work life and running for the School Board. She and I would often talk politics, which was always interesting because we often voted differently.

I remember so well mom and dad being Baptized here in the fall of 1990. I was so glad to be here with my siblings to watch that moment, as I was so glad to be here for mom and Richard’s wedding fifteen years after dad died.

I am so joyful for the way God gifted all of us for the time in January 1991, after Sandy and Peter and family were gifted time that Christmas, with mom and dad at Sugarloaf. We all got to be together sharing skiing and family time on that mountain dad loved. I remember so well mom posing for pictures in her outfit that fit her so well. And I so remember the last time I saw mom and dad together, when all of the rest of us headed home. They stayed an extra day at Sugarloaf Inn. The last image I have of them was mom and dad like a pair of teenage lovers skiing off together with smiles on their faces.

Mom and I returned to Sugarloaf March 2, 2001, to spreading dad’s ashes there. We spoke aloud her name and the names of all of us children as we released his remains to the mountain and to the wind.

And, Mom, we will be going back to that mountain later this year to spread yours remains there too, joining your physical body with dad’s, just as you today are at home in heaven with him and all of our loved ones who passed before you did.

&

edited February 20, 2021

A perfect week – v2

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week-v2.html

merged, edited February 20, 2021

In the arms of the mountain – v2

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain-v2.html

February 20, 2021

in the arms of the mountain

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain.html

February 20, 2021

A week on your mountain

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-week-on-your-mountain.html

February 20, 2021

A perfect week

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week.html

&

June 17, 2018

It seems like yesterday

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2018/06/it-seems-like-yesterday.html

Fathers’ Day

about our ski trip together January 1991

before my father’s black ice fatal accident

Valentine’s Day – February 14, 1991

 

 

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)  for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

 

Sugarloaf, Maine, poem, poetry, skiing, father, God, love, memories, mountain, Nature, Poetry Where You Live, snow, winter, mile marker 19, family,

 

#Sugarloaf #Maine #skiing #poem #poetry #father #God #hope #love #memories #mountain #Nature #snow #wind #winter #ashes #family #son #mother #wife #husband

the forest evoking memories - v5

the forest evoking memories - v5

a torrent of emotions, of feelings

a cascade of images, of memory

smells of the lodges, the cold air,

tastes even, of hot chocolate, of chili,

something tangible,

rich with love, with family,

seeing the snow on the branches

the deep green and the white

as we drive by, northward, homeward,

the forest evoking memories

of forty, of fifty year ago

when we went skiing as a family

joy in that time spent together

so much memory, in those moments,

the long drives, the fresh fallen snow,

the firsts to touch the powder

Dad focused so…

Wanting to carve the fresh powder

to cling to our edges on the boilerplate

needing to leave so early,

so many miles to go,

heading for the slopes

sometimes sleeping in the car

so much memory, excitement,

the smell of the hot wax, the klister,

the jockeying in the main lodges,

burning my mouth on hot chocolate,

eating the Colombo yogurts, music overhead,

“My Sweet Lord”, and so many others,

the wood fires, saltines in my chili,

riding the lifts as a single, jumping the lines,

climbing up into the forests, on the chairlifts,

covered with white, with snow

before the start of each run.

----------

edited March 6, 2021

the forest evoking memories – v5

edited March 5, 2021

the forest evoking memories – v4

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-forest-evoking-memories-v4.html

edited February 20, 2021

A perfect week – v2

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week-v2.html

merged, edited February 20, 2021

In the arms of the mountain – v2

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain-v2.html

February 20, 2021

in the arms of the mountain

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain.html

February 20, 2021

A week on your mountain

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-week-on-your-mountain.html

February 20, 2021

A perfect week

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week.html

&

June 17, 2018

It seems like yesterday

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2018/06/it-seems-like-yesterday.html

Fathers’ Day

about our ski trip together January 1991

before my father’s black ice fatal accident

Valentine’s Day – February 14, 1991

&

edited February 4, 2021

the forest evoking memories - v3

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-forest-evoking-memories-v3.html

edited February 4, 2021

the forest evoking memories - v2

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-forest-evoking-memories-v2.html

edited February 4, 2021

the forest evoking memories

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/editedfebruary-4-2021-theforest-evoking.html

February 3, 2021

the forest evoking memory

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-forest-evoking-memory.html

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Sugarloaf, Maine, poem, poetry, skiing, father, God, love, memories, mountain, Nature, Poetry Where You Live, snow, winter, mile marker 19, family,

#Sugarloaf #Maine #skiing #poem #poetry #father #God #hope #love #memories #mountain #Nature #snow #wind #winter #ashes #famil #son #mother #wife #husband

the forest evoking memories - v4

the forest evoking memories - v4

a torrent of emotions, of feelings

a cascade of images, of memory

smells of the lodges, the cold air,

tastes even, of hot chocolate, of chili,

something tangible,

rich with love, with family,

seeing the snow on the branches

the deep green and the white

as we drive by,

the forest evoking memories

of forty, of fifty year ago

when we went skiing as a family

so much memory, in those moments,

the long drives, the fresh fallen snow,

the firsts to touch the powder

Dad focused so…

wanting to carve the fresh powder

to cling to the boilerplate

needing to leave so early,

so many miles to go,

heading for the slopes

sometimes sleeping in the car

so much memory, excitement,

the smell of the hot wax, the glister,

the jockeying in the main lodges,

burning my mouth on hot chocolate,

eating the Colombo yogurts, music overhead,

“My Sweet Lord”, and so many others,

the wood fires, saltines in my chili,

riding the lifts as a single, jumping the lines,

climbing up into the forests, on the chairlifts,

covered with white, with snow.

----------

edited March 5, 2021

the forest evoking memories – v4

merged, edited February 20, 2021

In the arms of the mountain – v2

February 20, 2021

in the arms of the mountain

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/in-arms-of-mountain.html

February 20, 2021

A week on your mountain

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-week-on-your-mountain.html

February 20, 2021

A perfect week

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-perfect-week.html

&

June 17, 2018

It seems like yesterday

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2018/06/it-seems-like-yesterday.html

Fathers’ Day

about our ski trip together January 1991

before my father’s black ice fatal accident

Valentine’s Day – February 14, 1991

&

edited February 4, 2021

the forest evoking memories - v3

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-forest-evoking-memories-v3.html

edited February 4, 2021

the forest evoking memories - v2

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-forest-evoking-memories-v2.html

edited February 4, 2021

the forest evoking memories

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/editedfebruary-4-2021-theforest-evoking.html

February 3, 2021

the forest evoking memory

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-forest-evoking-memory.html

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Sugarloaf, Maine, poem, poetry, skiing, father, God, love, memories, mountain, Nature, Poetry Where You Live, snow, winter, mile marker 19, family,

#Sugarloaf #Maine #skiing #poem #poetry #father #God #hope #love #memories #mountain #Nature #snow #wind #winter #ashes #famil #son #mother #wife #husband