I am Grateful for...My Mother in Law Sybil Tenna Lee Larson

I am thankful for a wonderful Mother-in-Law.

I haven't done very well at posting lately but I promise I will try to catch up.  But for my first day of gratitude I wanted to mention my Mother-in-Law Sybil Tenna Lee Larson.

Sybil passed away on September 6th, 2011.  She is a wonderful woman, and so many people are missing her now.  This holiday season will be a difficult one for each one of us, but especially for her dear husband Park.

Sybil was the absolute perfect example of a being a Christ like person.  She never had a bad thing to say about anyone.  When ever I or anyone else would say something that was not so kind about someone, she would always counter it with something positive about that person.  I want to be like Sybil.

She loved her children and her grandchildren so much.  She had eleven children, and 36 grandchildren.  Her home was always welcome to all, and I know that she enjoyed any time the family would gather together.  I will miss her perfectly decorated holiday tables, complete with china, crystal, and silver.  She was the perfect hostess.  I want to be like Sybil.

She was the perfect Mother-in-Law too.  I was so grateful to her when she showed me how to iron James' white shirts.  I know that sounds silly, but she taught me how to do it, and to do it well. 

Sybil always made me feel comfortable.  One of the first times I was with her, she told me that I should call her Sybil, and Park, Park.  What a relief that was.  Instead of mumbling my way through that and calling her Sister Larson, or Hey you, or James' mom, she made that so much easier.  I hope I can do that for my children's future girlfriends/boyfriends/spouses. 

Sybil had an absolute flare for fashion.  I was so impressed to learn recently that she had met Coco Chanel, and that Coco Chanel had wanted Sybil to model for her, but Sybil wanted to be a mother.  I loved looking through her clothes and seeing her beautiful Chanel suits, her Pucci dresses, and her outrageously beautiful handbags.  Sybil knew how to accessorize any outfit and she even made a pair of sweats look fabulous with a beautiful scarf. 

She loved interior decorating too.  She would collect beautiful pictures from magazines, and she had binder after binder filled with wonderful ideas.  If I ever needed to know where to place my furniture, or what I could do differently to a room, she always had the perfect ideas.

I could write a novel with all the things that I love about her, and all the things that she taught me.  But quite simply, Sybil was a beautiful person, and I am lucky to call myself her daughter in law.

I love Sybil.  I am grateful that she raised a wonderful son.  I am grateful that she taught her son to respect women.  I am grateful that she taught all her children the Gospel.  Like James says, she is like the mothers of the Strippling Warriors.  I will miss her.