Mom Said: Moments and Memories of Life with our Mother (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780985917357)

Some people are born talented beyond measure but are limited by opportunity, geography, money or timing. Many succumb to those limitations. Patricia Hogue never allowed anything to limit her. Born of the Greatest Generation in a tiny South Dakota town, she maximized what she had been given and more than made up for in love, creativity, exuberance and wicked humor what she lacked. The daughter of humble pioneer immigrants, Pat was sunny, funny and smart as hell. A college grad back when women weren't, she landed great friends and a teaching job in Great Falls, Montana. But her greatest catch of all was Buster, whom she masterfully lured into her irresistible web and shared her life with for 60+ years. Those were amazing years, with Pat prolifically producing successful children (with Buster's willing help), ridiculously good food, hilarious poems and stories, fun parties, holiday dinners for 40, a fresh-from-the oven haven for the neighbor kids, piano solos on the black keys and an income thanks to Avon's door-to-door independence that enabled her to oversee a family life so sweet that her six kids have found it impossible to replicate it in their own adult lives. Why? Because that particular sweetness requires Pat's constant presence. She is the anchor, the glue, the maestro, the supporter, the taskmaster, the judge and jury, the voice in your head and heart, and the sun, moon and stars. But life moves on, and so has she. Today Pat is a sunny, funny nursing home resident in North Miami Beach, FL. Her memory has faded and her speech is challenged, but you know that like the peanut butter, she's in there somewhere, laughing and remembering. This book is her crowning achievement and before her decline into her brand of peaceful dementia, she handed out copies to anyone and everyone who crossed her path. It brought joy to her and those who read her words. Well done, Pat, well done.