"I think one of the most memorable things about my mom is her big heart - she is always looking for ways to do for others," Gilroy's Alene Creager said of her mom.

"When I was in elementary school, there was a family who lived in this run down house in a field, and the kids were not attending school because they didn't have clothes. We lived on a very limited budget, but my mom rallied the neighborhood women to sew clothes for these children so they could attend school. She was (and is) so fond of saying, "There but for the Grace of God go I." It has really guided her actions. I have gotten my attitude about reaching out to others from my mom - the more you can help, the merrier!"

Claudia Salewske of Gilroy told about her mother's influence: "My mother was the 'baby' of four children when the Great Depression began. My grandfather was laid off from his sales job, and mom's teen and young adult years weren't, shall we say, full of frills. But she came from a resourceful, pioneering family, and they made the most of what they did have. Mom had an enthusiasm for life and always counted her blessings rather than dwelling on what she lacked.

"She raised my younger brother, Bob, and me in this spirit. A creek ran behind the homes on our side of the street in the little valley where we grew up, and all us neighborhood kids played along its banks that were filled with wild blackberries. When the bushes were loaded with summer fruit, Bob and I would find small cardboard boxes or empty coffee cans in the garage and pick a big bunch of those succulent, tasty berries. We knew about how many were needed for jam or for a pie, and we'd head into the house and surprise mom with our bounty. More often than not, she'd put aside whatever work she was doing, and we'd get right to it - fulfilling the potential in those containers by creating many a mouth-watering treat.

"The operative word here is we. Mom didn't shoo us out of 'her' kitchen. She taught us to cook! My brother was a Boy Scout and I was in a Camp Fire Girl group. So on some occasions, we'd search through our guide books and find different badge requirements for Bob or honor beads for me that could be fulfilled by our endeavors in the kitchen that day. We were never "bored" in the summertime - Mom made everything an adventurous, fun, learning experience - and subtly passed along to us the resourcefulness that was so much a part of her own life. If our treats were shared with company, Mom didn't overdo the proud parent thing, but she did give us credit for being major players on her culinary team.

"All these years later, I still make about 20 batches of jams and chutneys every summer from various local fruits to share with friends and donate to the mission work of our church. My mom has been with the angels for nearly ten years now, but I still hear her enthusiasm for "making something special with God's bounty" every time I pull out my big cooking pan and set to work 'jammin' ' in our kitchen. Thank you, Mama."

There is a saying by Maltbie D. Babcock, "Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings to counting your troubles." Thanks to the readers who shared how the good memories of their mothers continue to live on in their own lives, I don't feel so alone in getting through the sorrow of Mother's Day, and I can focus on all the good things mom passed on to me.

Kat Teraji Kat Teraji is communications coordinator for a large non-profit organization that benefits women and children. Her column appears every Thursday in the Take 2 section of the Dispatch. You can reach her at kattoy@verizon.net.