I love you Mom!

Today is the 10th year anniversary of my Mom's death. I cannot believe it! She came into the world on January 16, 1930 as Marie Mayako Horiuchi. She, too, was the youngest child in her family.

She was born and raised in Seattle, Washington and during WWII, as a United States citizen she was sent to the Internment camp in Idaho named Minidoka. She returned to Seattle after the war and graduated from Franklin High School. She met my father, Carl Masami Ooka from Honolulu Hawaii while he was attending Seattle University.

I have many details to talk about her life but right now as I am getting ready to go to bed I want to just say this: Tonight was the last night my sister Val was going to be in town so all of the "Ooka girls" got together with their families and had dinner at Val's daughter's(Jenn) house. Mom would have loved to be around "her girls" eating, chatting and laughing.

I miss my mother very much and wish I had more time with her. That is where the youngest child gets cheated. I didn't get as much time with either of my parents compared to my siblings. This statement may sound bitter but it isn't. It is more an observation more than anything. I wish I could touch her soft face or just hear her say "Naomi, you need to eat more".

She loved all her girls so very deeply. It reminds me of a time when she was reminiscing about the past and how poor they were with all these kids. She had this sadness in her eyes and in her voice as she relayed how hard it was at Christmas time to not be able to afford to buy her children fun gifts. They could only afford gifts that were very practical. I could see the regret that she could not provide more for her children.

As I head off to bed....Mom I love you and miss you so much. I thought a lot about you today. I can't believe it has been 10 years since I last held your hand and told you it was ok to let go. I hope you are at peace and having a ball with Dad and Deb.