While growing up, Patricia Thompson's children never knew it was hard on their mother to sit all day in the hot sun at swim meets or chaperone them on long outings with their friends.
They never knew the real reason why their mother was blind in one eye and had to take a nap every afternoon, and they didn't realize why she sometimes lost her balance.
The "Queen of Everything," as Patricia's girls call her, never complained to her family about the side effects of multiple sclerosis, the disease she was diagnosed with while pregnant with her first child at age 23.
"She never let on to us that she was sick — she always had a positive outlook, she was always there for us," says Trisha Weeks, 35, the second-youngest of Patricia and Doyle Thompson's five daughters. "She did everything that any other mom did. Looking back now, we wonder how she did it."
Now 68 and retired in St. George, where she was Dixie High School's homecoming queen in 1953, Patricia's health has deteriorated recently after battling MS for 45 years. For an early Mother's Day gift, her daughters surprised her last week by showing up in matching T-shirts to take her on the annual MS Walk at Bloomington Park.
Then, three of the siblings (two others live out of state) asked me to join them for a Free Lunch of Thai pizza at Salt Lake City's California Pizza Kitchen to talk about their mother's fortitude and grace.
"She'd be mortified if she knew that we were doing this," says Stephanie Yorgason, who, at 33, is the youngest of the clan. "Our mom never likes to call attention to herself. So we thought we'd do it for her."
Patricia Frei Thompson was pregnant with her first child and teaching high school English when she first began having symptoms of MS.
Although she experienced numbness on one side of her body and told her doctor that she sometimes had double vision, "he simply gave her an eye patch and sent her on her way," says daughter Shauna Bigham, 37. "After that, she was known as the 'pirate teacher' at school. It wasn't until months later that a neurologist told her she had MS."
Then, as now, the prognosis was not particularly bright for young people with the disease. Stephanie and her siblings are grateful to have a mother who always looks on the sunny side, even though she now uses a wheelchair and often needs help with simple tasks.
In Indiana, where the sisters were reared, they remember a mother who stayed up late to sew new school clothes, regularly shuttled them to soccer tournaments and volunteered as a swim timer even though the heat and humidity aggravated her condition.
"Between the five of us, we swam competitively for eight years, not knowing the temperature swings at those meets were hard on her," says Shauna. "During the summer, Mom took us to pick blueberries, then spent hours canning them. She was always so busy, she never had time to worry about herself."
"On Sundays, there were always strangers at our table," adds Trisha. "Mom was always reaching out to help somebody else. At Christmas, she spent days making homemade goodies and would take us caroling. She used what little energy she had to make it a magical time for us."
As children, Trisha and her sisters once made their mother a glittering tiara and cape for Mother's Day, along with a banner proclaiming her "World's No. 1 Mom."
This year, there won't be a crown to go with the flowers, which is probably fine with Patricia because "we've teased her enough," says Stephanie. "Mom knows that no matter what, we'll always think she's the 'Queen of Everything.' "
Have a story? Let's hear it over lunch. E-mail your name, phone number and what's on your mind to freelunch@desnews.com. You can also write me at the Deseret News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.