I was living in the Seattle area at one of the lowest places I've ever been, when my mom died. I had just started a bellboy job at a local hotel in Kent, WA. after scrambling back from a bout of hopelessness.

My sister helped me get down to the Bay Area for the funeral. At the ceremony they asked me to say a few words, and handed me a bible with some scriptures to read.

If my self worth was not at the bottom of the pile at the moment, I would have declined, and spoke to the sizable gathering about my mom.

So, my self worth is back on track and this is what I should have said.

My mom, Janice King, was a beautiful young lady, sole child of my grandparents Jack and Maude. As World War Two ended she married a Pearl Harbor surviving Texas boy named Eugene Riza.

She had my older brother Dana and I, and then Gene split back to Texas. So there she was, a single mom with two boys, when she met my step dad Paul Hamilton.

Paul was not a father, just a provider, and I respect him for that. My mom became a wonderful mother, strong, supportive and loving to us kids. She was an amazing woman. She stood strong for my brother and I as my sister entered the family.

Paul moved us all over the West in search of work, and my mom was there for us throughout the journey.

I loved her very much! These are the words I wish I had said at her passing, I just wasn't capable...