Editor’s Note: As of today, Doug Hall will no longer be writing his weekly parenting column. He will be devoting his energies instead to the Great Aspirations! parent education charity.

Four months ago, my mother died of cancer. At the church service, I spoke some words intended to be inspirational and aspirational to family and friends. As we move toward the holiday season, those thoughts come back. Today, I share a portion of them with you in hopes that they inspire everyone to give their moms and their children a great big hug.

“Friends and family, we’re gathered here at the Church of the Good Shepherd to celebrate the life and living spirit of my mom, Jean Hall. It’s appropriate that this church — which served as our backdrop when we were members of the children’s choir, acolytes and hand bell ringers — should also be our pulpit today for declaring our thanskgiving for Mom’s living spirit. If this building served as the stage, my mother was the stage director, producer and scriptwriter. As only a mother can, she fueled us with hopes, dreams and aspirations.

“And today, she lives on in our marriages and in the lives of our children: Kristyn, Tori, Brad, Andrew, Matt, Zach and Jill. Each one is a continuing legacy of my mother’s spirit.

“I stand here wearing a kilt of the tartan of the Keith Clan and wearing the family crest that my mother’s grandmother brought when she immigrated from Scotland to Canada. She came to North America bringing a faith and a hope and a belief in dreams. This aspirational attitude was passed along to my mother’s mother, then to my mother, who instilled it in my father, brother, sister and myself.

“My mother was an optimistic woman with an unfailing faith in the abilities of her husband and her children. My mother encouraged us to dream. But she also insisted that we put in the time and effort needed to turn those dreams into reality.

“My mother knew, long before my brother and I knew, that we both would earn the rank of Eagle Scout. She knew long before we did that Pam, Bruce and I would thrive in college and in our careers and families. Our successes were preordained. Her spirit commanded it then. Her spirit commands it now.

“My mother gave us a gift of optimism, determination and stick-to-itiveness that infuses our life and our families each day.

“My mother was a teacher. She taught us to do the right thing, even when the right thing was difficult. She taught us to believe anything was possible if we set our mind to it.

“It was as a teacher to all of us and, in particular, to children that she made her special mark. From children to grandchildren, she inspired all of us to commit ourselves to furthering our education and to never ever stop learning.

“She also taught us that it was not enough to simply live life, that how we did things was as important as what we did. With a British sense of properness and dignity, she taught us to respect our guests and be polite as we sought our way in the world.

“My mother was born in Canada and loved it dearly. In particular she loved the green fields, red sand and blue bays of Prince Edward Island, where she and Dad spent so many summers. Just a few miles from their cottage is the farmhouse that was Lucy Maud Montgomery’s inspiration for the “Anne of Green Gables” books.

“As a girl, my mother found much to admire in Anne’s character, in her spunk and zest for living life to the fullest. Like my mother, Anne was a girl who acted on her dreams, who pursued her aspirations vigorously. Recently, as I reread “Anne of Green Gables,” I found a passage that brought me comfort and reminded me of how my mother regarded the great circle of life.

“The passage follows the passing of Anne’s adopted father, Matthew Cuthbert. Anne explains her feelings to Mrs. Allen: “It seems like disloyalty to Matthew, somehow, to find pleasure in things now that he has gone. I miss him so much — all the time — and yet, Mrs. Allen, the world and life seem very beautiful and interesting to me. Today Diana said something funny and I found myself laughing. I thought when it happened I could never laugh again. And it somehow seems as if I shouldn’t.”

“Through the voice of Mrs. Allen, Lucy Maud Montgomery offers an insight that, I’m sure, my mother would have encouraged us to heed closely: “Mrs. Allen said, `When Matthew was here, he liked to hear you laugh and he liked to know that you found pleasure in the pleasant things around you. He is just away now and he likes to know it just the same. I am sure we should not shut our hearts to the healing influences that nature and laughter offer us. But I understand your feeling.

“I think we all experience the same thing. We resent the thought that anything can please us when someone we love is no longer here to share the pleasure with us, and we almost feel as if we were unfaithful to our sorrow when we find our interest in life returning to us.”‘

“In that same way, my mother was never one to be sad for long. She would take great, great time in planning, but when an event was finished, it was finished. It was time to move forward.

“She is looking down today, encouraging us to live life. To use the words of Lucy Maude Montgomery in the book “Anne of Green Gables,” she’s encouraging us to have our interest in life return to us … she liked to hear us laugh … and she liked to know we found pleasure in the pleasant things around us. … She is just away now and she likes to know it just the same.

“Urban Charmichael is a Celtic folk singer on Prince Edward Island and a personal favorite of me and my mother. At each performance, Urban encourages everyone listening to go out and live life to the fullest. Just before he leaves the stage, Urban always proclaims, “Live each day like it’s your last, and eventually you’ll be right.”

“In honor of Mom, we should go forth from this place and take action in our lives. And remember that she lives — and will continue to live for as long as we live our lives to our fullest potential. My mom and dad lived every day as if it might be their last. They traveled here, there and everywhere, cramming as much living and loving as they could into every single day. They lived a daily celebration of faith, love and absolute respect for each other.

“It’s time all of us do the same. Mom is gone from this life, but she lives in eternal life.

“Mom, we know you’re in good hands now. And we thank God for giving us the gift of your life to treasure and hold dear.

“And we promise here today to live the kind of life that would make you proud.

“Mom, I love you. We all do.”

Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters everywhere, it is important to dream of the future. However, let us not forget that it is today, in the present, that we are all alive. Let us all give thanksgiving this holiday season for the genuine magic that is our families.

Doug Hall is director of the Great Aspirations! parent education charity. Learn more about how to help inspire your kids at www.aspirations.com. E-mail: Doug(at)aspirations.com.