Caroline Prince, Bookseller, Seattle

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"Well, this is kind of a mercenary memory but... When I was about 18, we were supposed to visit my grandmother's for two weeks. I was having a tough time with my boyfriend -- these two girls were trying to steal him -- and my mom paid $400 to let me fly there a week later. She understood, even though it was stupid and silly and we can all laugh now about how silly it all was. She was very cool. Of course, that boyfriend and I have since broken up, but at the time, it was worth it. Now, my mom's probably disgruntled about laying out $400..."

George Gould, Retired civil engineer, Bellevue

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"That's too many years ago! I guess it's all the wonderful food she used to cook for us. Broiled round steak and creamed potatoes -- I've never been able to duplicate that. And she used to encourage us in sports -- baseball and football -- so we participated. That was a big part of our youth. I tried to encourage our kids... Like my mom, I encouraged them in whatever they wanted to do."

Nancy Gould, Retired journalist, Bellevue

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"Her love and kindness, her sacrifice. Both she and my father were able to send me to college. That was a hard go, but it was so important to them that their children get the education that they didn't have. And they made it come true. As I look back, I wonder how in the world they did it -- but they did. And we did it for our children... I just wish my parents had lived longer. In those days, they didn't have the benefit of the drugs we have now to prolong their lives. Both died in their early fifties..."

Brian Keiler, Bookseller, Bellevue

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"There are so many good ones. And it's like I had three moms -- my mom and two grandmothers. My mother was really young when she had me so I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. They are all so extraordinary... I remember when I was really young, I used to get leg cramps at night and my mother would come in and massage them till I fell asleep. And my grandmother, Betty Lou, is probably one of the biggest influences in my life because, in her seventies, she's going to college. And Alice, in her late seventies, still teaches dance... I've always been so proud of all of them."

Susan Arnold, Accounts Payable supervisor, Bellevue

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"Cooking and baking in the kitchen -- chocolate chip cookies, of course. I've memorized the recipe... And I've loved being a mom. My son's 22 and is just finishing up his third year at the U.W. He has lots of reasons for coming home, but food is a main one... My mom and I are very close but we don't live in the same community anymore and she misses having family around -- all the talking and sharing."

Ray Davis, Mechanical designer, Seattle

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"My best memory of my mom would be spending summers with her at Swan Lake in Montana. We had a cabin there and she drove the boat when I waterskied and all that stuff. Dad was working, mom drove the boat, and I skied... She's been gone about six years -- Mother's Day and Christmas were hard at first... I'm looking forward to the day when I can be married to a mother..."

Copyright © 1996 by the Bellevue, WA-based Journal American newspaper.

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