Many of my current followers have already heard the news by now that my mother passed away. She left us to return home late in the evening of July 26th. Needless to say I'm still recovering as I struggle to find my new idea of 'normal'. Now that her services have been completed, they say this is when the hardest part starts. They were not kidding.
I knew I would be a wreck at her Homegoing Celebration but knew I had to say something. Therefore, I wrote it all out beforehand and scrutinized it several times before I finally agreed on a final version. It seemed to go over very well and I'm fairly confident Mom herself would have been pleased. So for those of you who are interested, I wanted to share the transcript of my mini-tribute to the greatest woman I have ever known...
"On behalf of my Dad, Dr. Stanley Fleming, Sr., my sisters Teandra Fleming and Diah Conkrite, we would like to personally thank everyone for all your kind words, thoughts, prayers and condolences. It's great to know that we were not the only ones who loved Mom beyond measure.
I am definitely no public speaker. Which is why I wrote this beforehand. Because one of the many traits I did inherit from Mom was the ability to write. So please forgive me if I don't express it as eloquently through speaking as I intend it in actual words.
I am the oldest son of the oldest child. An unashamed Mama's Boy. And while I was never actually called that name, I wouldn't have minded it at all. I'm very proud of everything Mom taught me both intentionally and inadvertently.
We're always taught that no one is perfect. That is true to some extent. However, the more I think back on it, I realize that for us, we had the perfect mother. She was the perfect grandmother. The perfect role model. She always had the perfect smile. She had the perfect laugh. She certainly didn't raise the perfect son, but she left me with some perfect memories of her efforts to do so.
I could stand up here all day giving you perfect examples of all the incredible traits she had. Especially the ones I was blessed enough to have been gifted with. But I know you all have things to do and Mom wouldn't want me spending your time doing that. I will tell you this one though because it's so relevant. And that was of how unselfish Mom was.
As Mom was more and more ill to the end, I would make more frequent trips from Texas to visit. During one one of my recent trips, Dad had mentioned he wanted go see the new Transporter movie that was playing and wanted to know if I wanted to go. I told him I would pass so I could spend more time with Mom. Mom pulled me aside and told me that I needed to go. She flat out said that Dad needed some time away, a temporary distraction, because he had been so consumed with taking care of her. She was more worried about his well-being even as she was suffering constantly. Needless to say, I did what she said and we went. Now I have to be honest and tell you the movie was horrible. Just not a good movie at all. Both Dad and I slept through a lot of it. But I do know that was some rest that Dad needed. Some rest that Mom made sure he got one way or another.
So I again thank all of you for being here to celebrate and honor Mom's memory. Know that she is here with us celebrating as well. I certainly don't mean here as these earthly remains either. I mean right here in our hearts.
Stay blessed."